By SANDY SHORE

Associated Press

Wheat prices rose Wednesday as dry weather in China and the United States renewed concerns about global supplies and rising food prices.

Wheat rose 18.25 cents to settle at $8.565 a bushel.

Stockpiles have been affected by weather problems for months, leading to speculation that global supplies are tightening.

Now, China's key wheat-growing province of Shandong is facing its worst drought in at least 40 years as a result of unusually dry weather across northern and eastern China.

It's not yet clear what the effect of the drought will be on China's grain supplies or whether the government will increase imports.

U.S. farmers are worried about their winter wheat crop because of a dry winter in parts of the Great Plains.

"They continue to worry about temperature extremes, one of the worst things for wheat in the wintertime, especially on dry soils," said Mike Zuzolo, president of Global Commodity Analytics & Consulting LLC.

In addition, uncertainty lingers about Australia's wheat crop after devastating floods there.

The latest weather woes come after last summer's drought severely damaged wheat crops in the Black Sea region, prompting Russia to impose an export ban.

The United Nations has urged governments to avoid imposing export restrictions or other short-term measures to cope with rising food prices. It said such steps can make matters worse by driving global prices up.

The United Nations has urged governments to avoid imposing export restrictions or other short-term measures to cope with rising food prices. It said such steps can make matters worse by driving global prices up.

The impact of higher commodity prices already has forced consumers in many parts of the world to pay more for products that use wheat. Higher food prices have been a factor behind violent protests in Tunisia and Egypt.

Most other commodities also settled higher.

In contracts for March delivery, corn gained 13.75 cents to $6.5775 a bushel and soybeans rose 11 cents to $13.855 a bushel.

In other trading, gold for February delivery added 70 cents to settle at $1,333 an ounce.

In March contracts, silver added 32.3 cents to settle at $27.128 an ounce, copper rose 4.1 cents to $4.267 a pound and palladium gained $19.85 to $804.60 an ounce. April platinum settled up $9.60 at $1,796.90 an ounce.

Oil prices rose as investors focused on President Barack Obama's ideas for more jobs and overhauling corporate taxes.

Benchmark oil for February delivery gained $1.14 to settle at $87.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In Nymex contracts for February delivery, heating oil added 7.47 cents to settle at $2.6713 a gallon and gasoline gained 8.6 cents to settle at $2.4566 a gallon. Natural gas for March delivery settled up 1.1 cents to $4.501 per 1,000 cubic feet.