Wet weather will linger across much of Australia over the next three months, the country's weather bureau said on Thursday, a forecast that could boost the fortunes of farmers in one of the world's largest agricultural producers.
There is an 80% chance that nearly all of Australia will receive above average rainfall between June 1 and Sept. 30, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology said in its latest forecast.
That would boost soil moisture available for recently sown wheat after three years of poor harvests amid sustained dry weather.
Australia's chief commodity forecaster in March predicted a 40% rise in wheat output for the 2020/21 season as a break in the prolonged drought encouraged farmers to sow more grain.
Higher Australian wheat production would weigh on benchmark global wheat prices <Wv1>, which on Thursday hit a near two-month low amid expectations for ample global supplies. [GRA/]
Wheat is Australia's most lucrative rural export from an agricultural sector worth about A$50 billion ($35 billion).
During the years of poor Australian production, traditional buyers of its wheat such as Indonesian and Japanese millers were forced to look to alternative markets like Russia.
(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Aditya Soni)
