February 3, 2007

 

US Wheat Review on Friday: Finishes little changed; soy, corn support

 

 

U.S. wheat futures finished mixed in quiet trade Friday, recovering from losses set earlier in the session as a strong rally to new contract highs in soybean futures supported wheat, sources said.

 

CBOT March wheat rose 1 cent to US$4.61 1/4, KCBT March wheat slipped 1/2 cent to US$4.87, and MGE March wheat ended unchanged at US$4.93 1/2.

 

"Wheat was a reluctant follower of soybeans and corn," said Vic Lespinasse of AG Edwards & Sons. Interest in trading wheat was quiet ahead of the weekend and the cold weather forecast for parts of the U.S. Midwest soft red winter wheat belt over the next several days didn't seem to be a concern, he added.

 

Wheat trading was extremely thin, a CBOT floor broker said. The rally started in soybean oil, spilled over into soybeans and corn and dragged wheat up from lower levels, he said.

 

March soybeans rallied 15 1/4 cents to US$7.36 3/4.

 

There continues to be little fresh news to trade on and that was reflected in the market, a floor source added.

 

Next week trading could be choppy but wheat should begin to see the funds start to roll out of their nearby positions and there is a report on Friday which could support the market later in the week, the floor source said.

 

On daily open auction charts, March wheat fell below its 200-day moving average early in the session but finished above it, but remains below its 10-day moving average.

 

In CBOT trades, JP Morgan bought 400 July, Rand bought 300 May and sold 200 March.

 

Commodity fund buying and selling was even on the day.

 

 

Kansas City Board of Trade

 

Hard red winter wheat futures ended fractionally lower, with "not a whole lot of action," a KCBT floor source said. The market was down earlier in the day so ending unchanged was positive, they added.

 

The gains in soybeans and corn helped futures recover, as did pre-weekend positioning, a floor trader said. Fimat was noted selling March and buying May.

 

On daily open auction technical charts, KCBT March settled beneath its 10-day and 20-day moving averages.

 

In mid-day KCBT trades, Man Financial sold 200 March contracts and 200 July. ADM bought 200 March and JP Morgan sold 100 March.

 

 

Minneapolis Grain Exchange

 

Spring wheat futures settled unchanged to fractionally higher as the market struggled to find a feature, an MGE floor source said. Volume was thin, with light selling of deferred MGE futures against deferred CBOT wheat noted, the source added.

 

In MGE trades, ADM sold 200 March, sources said.

 

Friday afternoon, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is scheduled to release the weekly commitment of traders report for the period ending Jan. 30.

 

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is scheduled to release the weekly export inspections at 11 a.m. EST.