US Wheat Review on Friday: Ends mostly lower; Minneapolis Grain Exchange  rises slightly

 

 

U.S. wheat futures closed mostly lower Friday with neighboring markets, although Minneapolis Grain Exchange wheat advanced slightly on weather concerns.

 

Chicago Board of Trade July wheat closed down 1 3/4 cents at US$5.34 3/4 a bushel. Kansas City Board of Trade July wheat slipped 3/4 cent to US$5.79 1/2, while MGE July wheat rose 2 cents to US$6.23 1/2.

 

Without spillover support from CBOT soybeans or corn, which closed lower, wheat was unable to hang on to gains due to poor export demand, a trader said. The wheat markets traded both sides during the day session.

 

"The main fundamental news has been and continues to be that rallies have not been sustainable because we can't back it up with demand," said John Kleist, broker and analyst at Allendale.

 

Egypt booked Russian and French wheat Thursday in a snap tender, but no wheat from the U.S.

 

U.S. wheat has been too pricey to be competitive on the global market, although there is chatter the U.S. is becoming more competitive, an analyst said.

 

"There's been some talk that the Russians are raising their prices for new crop," said Sid Love, analyst for Kropf & Love Consulting. "We may be getting closer and closer to having our wheat be competitive - not right now it appears, but it's always a possibility."

 

There was some light profit-taking and positioning ahead of the weekend, a trader said. CBOT July wheat closed up 1 1/4 cents on the week.

 

 

Kansas City Board of Trade

 

KCBT wheat slipped slightly amid ongoing uncertainty about the impact of a freeze last week in the U.S. southern Plains, traders said. The cold snap likely hurt hard red winter wheat in Oklahoma and Texas, although the extent of the damage is still unknown, they said.

 

"It's going to be very tough to categorize damage that might or might not have happened on that freeze," Kleist said. "In terms of the total wheat crop and in terms of the total carryover, it is not going to be sufficient to turn a bear into a bull."

 

Rain in the HRW wheat belt should help the crop recover from the freeze and ease any lingering dryness, meteorologists said. The moisture was seen as bearish for the market, an analyst said.

 

 

Minneapolis Grain Exchange

 

The fundamental focus for MGE wheat continues to be spring wheat planting delays in the northern Plains, an analyst said. Excessive wetness and cool weather have kept farmers out of their fields.

 

Conditions should be dry in most areas through late next week, T-Storm Weather said in a forecast. Rain chances return either next weekend or the following week, the private weather firm said.

 

"At least 5-7 days of dry weather occurs to aid pre-planting and planting - especially since above-average warmth begins around the middle of next week," T-Storm said.