"There is a low developing just south of WA that will pass through from Friday evening," Yanhui Blockley, a meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology in Perth said. Rainfall in farming areas may total 10 millimetres (0.4 inches) to 30 millimetres, she said.

 

Drier weather has prevailed in Western Australia this year compared with the country's east, with farmers to complete rapeseed planting this month and continue wheat sowing into June. Improved seasonal conditions would help boost earnings, Elders Ltd. said at a first-half results presentation on May 17.

 

"There will be rain almost everywhere in Australia in the next week, so we have some optimism about what is happening in WA, and that is the big question mark for all of us at the moment," Elders Chief Executive Officer Malcolm Jackman said.

 

Wheat futures for July delivery dropped 0.8% to US$4.6775/bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade at 12.55 pm in Melbourne, taking this year's decline to 14%. Elders gained 1.9% to AUD1.06 (US$0.93) on the Australian stock exchange.

 

Western Australia's cropping region received variable rain in the past week with Newdegate getting more than 80 millimetres, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. Other areas had received less than 10 millimetres and falls ranged greatly even on the same farms, Western Australian Farmers Federation President Mike Norton said from Perth. "There has been some widespread rain but it has been patchy," Norton said. "There is another good front coming through and if we can get a more generalised fall this time it will be of benefit," he said.