US Wheat Review on Friday: Ends mixed, little changed before weekend

 

 

U.S. wheat futures were little changed at the close Friday as traders evened up positions ahead of the weekend amid an absence of support from Minneapolis Grain Exchange wheat.

 

Chicago Board of Trade July wheat rose 2 1/2 cents to US$5.43 1/4 a bushel, up 8 1/2 cents on the week. Kansas City Board of Trade July wheat edged up 1 1/2 cents to US$5.93 1/2, and MGE July wheat slipped 1 1/4 cents to US$6.51.

 

The absence of strength in MGE wheat took spillover support away from CBOT and KCBT wheat, traders said. MGE wheat has jumped during the past two sessions on worries about delayed spring wheat seedings and lent support to the other markets.

 

Overall, activity was relatively quiet, said Jason Britt, president of Central State Commodities. May options expired.

 

"It's a Friday," Britt said. "I don't think guys want to venture out and stick their neck out too far."

 

It was seen as somewhat "negative" for wheat futures that Statistics Canada estimated growers will increase all-wheat seedings for 2009-10, a CBOT trader said. All-wheat acres were pegged at 25.161 million acres, above trade expectations and up from 25.009 million in 2008-09. However, farmers still have to get the crop in the ground, so plantings will ultimately decided by Mother Nature, the trader said.

 

 

Kansas City Board of Trade

 

Positioning pushed KCBT wheat slightly higher amid a lack of fresh fundamental news, a trader said. KCBT July wheat closed up 14 cents on the week.

 

Traders are waiting for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to issue its weekly crop progress report Monday, an analyst said. Condition ratings in hard red winter wheat states should improve following recent rains, although Texas and Oklahoma could show more damage from an early April freeze, he said.

 

It was surprising that weakness in the U.S. dollar did not lend more support to wheat, analysts said. A soft dollar makes U.S. wheat more attractive to foreign buyers.

 

 

Minneapolis Grain Exchange

 

MGE spring wheat fell on profit-taking after recent gains, traders said. There is uncertainty about when the spring wheat crop will get in the ground, and forecasts for cool, wet weather do not bode well for planting, crop specialists said.

 

Nearby MGE May wheat closed down 4 cents at US$6.65, up 29 1/4 cents on the week. MGE July wheat closed up 27 1/2 cents on the week.

 

There is a chance for "substantial rain" Saturday to Tuesday in spring wheat areas of the northern Plains, according to T-Storm Weather. The private weather firm still predicted that planting will remain "sluggish" for the next week or two as soils remain wet due to melting snow.

 

Farmers in the Canadian Prairies intend to plant 6.2% more spring wheat in 2009 than last year, largely due to a 430,000-acre increase in Saskatchewan, Statistics Canada said. Nationally, the agency says spring wheat plantings will reach 17.328 million.