US Wheat Review on Monday: Ends flat-lower as markets consolidate

 

 

U.S. wheat futures closed flat to lower Monday after marking new contract lows as the markets consolidated and failed to hold on to earlier gains.

 

Nearby Chicago Board of Trade May wheat ended unchanged at US$4.64 3/4 a bushel. Kansas City Board of Trade May wheat slipped 2 cents, or 0.4%, to US$4.73 1/2. Minneapolis Grain Exchange May wheat stumbled 3/4 cent, or 0.2%, to US$4.96 1/4.

 

CBOT May wheat in open outcry trading touched a fresh contract low of US$4.63, taking out the previous low of US$4.64. It was the third consecutive session in which the contract has set a new low.

 

The flat close came after the markets spent much of the session in positive territory. CBOT May wheat ended below its session high of US$4.71 1/4, which was hit in electronic trading.

 

Fundamentals for wheat are well-known and unsupportive. World supplies are ample, and competition for export business is stiff.

 

 

Kansas City Board of Trade

 

KCBT May wheat touched a fresh contract low of US$4.73 1/4, below the previous low of US$4.75, set Friday. The contract closed below its session high of US$4.81.

 

Wheat has been looking to other markets for direction and needs spillover strength to rise, an analyst said. Prices pulled back, despite weakness in the U.S. dollar, which was seen as supportive earlier in the session. Neighboring CBOT corn finished little changed. Soy finished stronger but off their highs.

 

 

Minneapolis Grain Exchange

 

MGE May wheat matched its previous contract low of US$4.96, which was set Friday. Its session high Monday was US$5.01.

 

Traders are looking ahead to U.S. Department of Agriculture crop reports, due Wednesday, and to the end of the month. Positioning is expected Tuesday ahead of month-end and the reports.

 

The focus of the reports for the wheat industry will be 2010-11 U.S. spring wheat acreage, as winter wheat was seeded last fall and no major surprises are expected in a quarterly stocks report, an analyst said. The average analyst estimate for plantings of spring wheat other than durum is 13.558 million acres, up from 13.3 million in the 2009-10 crop year, according to a Dow Jones Newswires survey.