US Wheat Review on Thursday: Ends mostly up in technically led trade

 

 

U.S. wheat futures finished mostly higher but well off session highs in technically led trading Thursday.

 

Chicago Board of Trade July wheat rose 4 1/2 cents to US$5.36 1/2 a bushel. Kansas City Board of Trade July wheat gained 3 3/4 cents to US$5.84 3/4, and Minneapolis Grain Exchange July wheat finished unchanged at US$6.58 1/4.

 

The markets trimmed gains after climbing at the opening of trading, with CBOT July wheat hitting an open outcry session high of US$5.43. The pattern of showing strength early and then fading reduces confidence of attracting new longs to the market, said Shawn McCambridge, analyst for Prudential Bache.

 

Indeed, traders still seem to want to sell rallies in wheat, a broker said. Large world supplies and weak demand for U.S. wheat are fundamentally bearish for the markets, he said.

 

Egypt's General Authority for Supply Commodities booked 60,000 tonnes of Canadian wheat in a tender and none from the U.S. Total weekly U.S. wheat export sales of 251,200 tonnes were below expectations of 300,000 tonnes to 550,000 tonnes.

 

In other news, deliveries against the CBOT May wheat future on first notice day were heavier than expected at 8,122 contracts. Traders and analysts had estimated deliveries would be 3,000-5,000 contracts.

 

 

Kansas City Board of Trade

 

KCBT wheat futures ended slightly higher, with support seen from a rally in CBOT soybeans, a trader said. July soybeans ended up 30 cents at US$10.55 on strong demand and technical buying. KCBT July wheat closed below its open outcry session high of US$5.92.

 

Recent rain in hard red winter wheat areas of the U.S. central and southern Plains has been seen as beneficial for the crop. The region is seen remaining wet next week, when crop scouts on the annual Wheat Quality Council tour will survey fields in Kansas.

 

 

Minneapolis Grain Exchange

 

MGE wheat has the strongest fundamentals of the three markets because of delayed spring wheat planting in the northern U.S. Plains, analysts said. Cool, excessively wet weather has kept farmers out of their fields for weeks.

 

However, month-end profit-taking weighed on prices after recent rallies, they said. There are ideas the market is "overbought," an analyst said.

 

The U.S. northern Plains look as though they are turning drier through Sunday, according to a forecast from T-Storm Weather. Rain chances return from Tuesday through Wednesday, although the best chances for substantial rainfall are just east of spring wheat areas, the private weather firm said.