Wheat futures at the Chicago Board of Trade closed weak on Friday in thin dealings as traders sought position ahead of the weekend, traders said. "There wasn't much to talk about today. We were up early then turned down on a little light local and fund selling, there wasn't much in here," a pit source said. Active nearby March closed 2 cents lower at $2.87-3/4 per bushel. Other months closed 1-3/4 to 3-3/4 cents lower.
Pit sources said the light volume left the market vulnerable to the current choppy trading pattern. The abundant supply of wheat globally continues to overpower occasional bounces from short-covering moves.
News late this week that Algeria bought 300,000 tonnes of optional-origin wheat at a cheap price didn't bode well for US wheat futures, CBOT floor traders said.
Exports were quiet overnight and French wheat futures sagged on Friday after the European Union's relatively low export subsidy award on Thursday of 4 euros per tonne.
The low EU export subsidy was mildly supportive for US wheat futures.
However, futures traders and analysts said there was no bullish momentum for the market and they continued to cite the plentiful supply of wheat globally as a key reason for near relentless pressure on wheat futures prices.
The US Agriculture Department's crop report and supply/demand report on January 12 showed the total supply of US wheat on December 1 at 531.0 million bushels, above the 492.0 million on December 1 the previous year.
The USDA's forecast for the amount of US wheat at the end of the current marketing year (2004/05) on May 31 was 583 million bushels, 30 million bushels more than the previous month.
The USDA pegged 2004/05 global wheat production at a record 621 million tonnes, up 12 percent from last year.
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