February 17, 2006
US Wheat Review on Thursday: Higher, led by technicals, funds, weather
U.S. wheat futures finished higher Thursday, benefiting from light technical buying early in the session, with the gains extended on fund buying late, sources said.
CBOT March wheat settled 7 cents higher at US$3.59 per bushel. May wheat rose 6 3/4 cents to US$3.70. KCBT March gained 9 cents to US$4.25 1/2, with KCBT May 9 3/4 cents higher at US$4.29 1/2. MGE March wheat rose 7 1/2 cents to US$4.08 3/4.
"It was a skittish market today, a floor analyst said. Light buying early on ran the market into small buy stops and there was not much for sale, he said.
Trading activity was choppy, but light fund buying came in late and provided additional strength, he added.
There was not much interest selling, a trader said.
Commodity fund buying was estimated at 2,000 contracts in Chicago.
Concerns about the frigid weather and its impact on hard red winter wheat helped support KCBT wheat futures, a commission house analyst in Kansas City said. The weather was the feature for higher prices, he added, with trading volume modest, he added.
Very cold Artic air will spread from the Canadian prairies through the Midwest and into the northern, central and southern plains during the weekend, DTN Meteorlogix weather said.
Low temperatures below zero Fahrenheit are predicted for northern Kansas, and single-digit Fahrenheit readings are possible into the southwestern plains, Meteorlogix added.
In CBOT trades, Calyon Financial bought 300 May, Fimat bought 400 May, RJ O'Brien bought 400 May and 100 March, Rand bought 200 May and Tenco bought 500 May.
Fimat sold 200 May, the Refco division of Man Financial sold 200 May and Prudential Financial sold 100 May.
In other wheat news, Iraq has delayed a decision on its long-running tender for optional origin wheat until Sunday.
On Friday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is scheduled to release the commitment of trader's data as of Feb. 14 after the close.
