Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures closed lower on Wednesday on a technical setback after strength when December broke through its 50-day moving average but hit resistance at $3.21-1/4, traders said.
A lack of technical follow-through and quiet wheat news was enough to take the bloom off the price climb. But the market was underpinned by commercial buying. "They were buying all the way down," one CBOT floor broker said.
CBOT wheat futures settled 4-1/4 to 5-3/4 cents per bushel lower. December was down 5-3/4 at $3.13-1/2, after pushing through its 50-day moving average of $3.19-1/2. Funds sold about 2,000 lots.
Clayton and Man Financial each sold 700-800 December. Cargill Inc and Fiat Futures were the featured buyers, each with 1,000 December, traders said.
After the lower close, Egypt's GASC tendered for 50,000 tonnes to 60,000 tonnes of US, French, Canadian, Australian, and/or Argentine wheat. GASC was also seeking offers for 30,000 to 60,000 tonnes of Russian and Syrian soft wheat.
Seeding of the US winter wheat crop was moving along at a good clip. Dry, warm weather was forecast through on Thursday for the winter wheat belt, which should help farmers seed the tail end of their crop.
The US Department of Agriculture reported on Monday that 78 percent of the winter wheat crop was planted on Sunday, on par with the five-year average. Export business provided a mixed bag.
There were hopes that the weakness in the US dollar on Wednesday would stir fresh export business. But escalating ocean freight could deter buyers.
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