February 16, 2007

 

US Wheat Review on Thursday: Settles higher in two-sided trade

 

 

U.S. wheat futures ended higher Thursday in choppy trading as late speculative buying at the KCBT helped support prices, sources said.

 

CBOT March wheat ended 2 1/4 cents higher at US$4.53 1/4, KCBT March wheat rallied 9 cents to US$4.86 1/4, and MGE March wheat settled 4 1/2 cents higher at US$4.96 1/4.

 

Weaker nearby corn futures prices weighed on CBOT soft red futures for part of the session with the lack of fundamental inputs limiting price volatility, a floor broker said.

 

Losses were limited as CBOT March was able to remain above its January low of US$4.47 1/2 on daily technical charts, the broker added.

 

Unwinding of corn-wheat spreads and late short-covering on a modest recovery in corn values also added support, sources said.

 

Spillover from speculative buying near the close at the KCBT also added to the gains, floor traders said.

 

Traders noted the lack of export news as a limiting factor as the U.S. Department of Agriculture delayed the release of the weekly export sales report until Friday due to the weather in Washingtonne, D.C.

 

Wheat is looking for some fresh news to provide market direction, a floor source said.

 

On daily open auction charts, CBOT March settled below its major moving averages.

 

In CBOT trades, JP Morgan bought 500 May, Tenco bought 400 March and Goldenberg-Hehmeyer sold 500 May.

 

In spread trading, JP Morgan bought 400 Mar.-May.

 

 

Kansas City Board of Trade

 

Hard red winter wheat futures ended higher and near session highs as late speculative buying helped trigger buy-stops in nearby March, boosting prices late, sources said.

 

JP Morgan bought 1,500 May late in the session and caught locals off-guard and they had to cover their positions, a KCBT floor source said.

 

Before the late surge, hard red wheat futures were supported by the unwinding of corn-wheat spreads, sources added.

 

In KCBT trades, JP Morgan bought 1,800 May and FC Stonnee bought 500 May.

 

In spread activity, Man Financial bought 500 Mar.-May, ADM bought 500 Mar.-May and Fimat sold 600 Mar.-Jul.

 

 

Minneapolis Grain Exchange

 

Spring wheat futures finished higher as the late gains at the KCBT spilled over to underpin prices, an MGE floor trader said. Before the late rally, activity was two-sided with commercial interests on both sides of the market, the trader added.

 

Continued rolling out of March and into the deferred months was noted with flat price trading activity light.

 

On daily open auction technical charts, March wheat traded an inside day, between the highs and the lows established Wednesday and settled above several major moving averages.

 

On Friday, the USDA is scheduled to release the weekly export sales report for the week ended Feb. 8 at 8:30 a.m. EST (1330 GMT). Analysts expect sales between 400,000-650,000 metric tonnes.