July 29, 2006

 

US Wheat Review on Friday: Mixed in quiet trade, market consolidates

 

 

U.S. wheat futures settled mixed Friday in thin activity as the market traded on either side of Thursday's settlement prices.

 

Trading volume was light as there was very limited speculative interest Friday, a Chicago Board of Trade commission house analyst said.

 

Wheat is following corn and soybeans to a certain extent and there was not much going on in either market, he added.

 

The wheat market is consolidating at these price levels on the lack of fresh fundamental inputs, said Shawn McCambridge, senior grain analyst at Prudential Financial.

 

The winter wheat markets are making a transition from supply markets to demand-based markets. Wheat is waiting on potential demand from Iraq and India and that will take time before those countries purchase wheat, he added.

 

CBOT September wheat settled 3/4 cent higher at US$3.88 1/2 and December ended up 1/2 cent to US$4.08. December declined 18 1/4 cents from last Friday's close.

 

On day-only technical charts, both CBOT September and December ended below their 100-day moving averages.

 

In CBOT trades, Fimat bought 100 September and 200 December, and JP Morgan bought 100 September and 100 March.

 

Man Financial sold 700 July and JP Morgan sold 100 September.

 

In spread trading, ADM bought 1,000 September-March.

 

 

Kansas City Board of Trade

 

Hard red wheat futures finished with thin losses in very quiet trading, sources said. Friday was the slowest trading session of the week, a KCBT floor broker said. There was little buying interest and the order flow reflected this, he added. The market needs some fresh ideas for next week, he noted.

 

In midday KCBT trades, Man Financial bought 200 December and sold 200 September, ADM bought 100 December and the Refco division of Man Financial sold 100 September.

 

KCBT September settled 1 1/2 cents lower at US$4.84 per bushel and December edged down 1/4 cent to US$5.00. December finished the week 21 1/2 cents lower from last Friday's close.

 

 

Minneapolis Grain Exchange

 

Spring wheat futures settled on either side of unchanged, reflecting a choppy tonnee in quiet activity, sources said. The market traded modestly higher early in the session on light speculative buying but then turned choppy as market lacked definition, a floor source said. Little reaction was noted to Thursday's spring wheat tour yield estimate of 31.7 bushels per acre, floor sources said.

 

MGE September wheat ended unchanged at US$4.78 per bushel and December fell 1 1/4 cents to US$4.87.

 

Minneapolis grain receipts totaled 27 cars of wheat and 9 cars of durum, compared to 130 cars of wheat and 27 cars of durum a year ago.

 

On Friday afternoon, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is scheduled to release the weekly Commitments of Traders Report for the period ending July 25.

 

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is scheduled to release the weekly export inspections report at 10 a.m. CDT and the weekly crop progress report at 3 p.m. CDT.