Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures closed lower on Monday on a late flurry of technical selling amid bearish export news and favourable weather for US winter wheat, traders said. CBOT May wheat closed 3-1/2 cents lower at $3.01-3/4 per bushel. Deferred months were down 1-1/2 to 3-1/4 cents. Volume was estimated by the exchange at 36,276 futures and 11,557 options. Funds sold about 8,000 contracts on the day, and Refco Inc and Citigroup were among the late sellers, traders said.
"I'm surprised funds sold as much as they did. It's light volume overall . . . so I think there are probably some technical features," one cash-connected trader said.
The US share of Egypt's latest wheat purchase disappointed the market. Egypt on Saturday bought 145,000 tonnes of wheat for May 21-31 shipment, including 60,000 tonnes of French milling wheat and 30,000 tonnes of Russian wheat, and only 55,000 tonnes of unspecified US hard wheat.
However, Minneapolis Grain Exchange spring wheat futures rallied on market talk that the US wheat sold to Egypt might have been hard red spring wheat. MGE wheat had plunged on Friday to near three-year lows.
News that Turkey tendered to sell 75,000 tonnes of milling wheat and 125,000 tonnes of durum wheat was bearish.
The US Department of Agriculture reported US weekly export inspections of wheat at a disappointing 13.3 million bushels, below estimates for 15 million to 23 million.
After the markets closed, USDA said 69 percent of the US winter wheat crop was rated in good to excellent condition, down from 70 percent the previous week.
USDA said the US spring wheat crop was 23 percent planted as of Sunday, lagging last year's 31 percent but ahead of the five-year average of 17 percent.
Friday's CFTC Commitments of Traders report showed large speculators moved to a net short position in CBOT wheat futures during the week ended April 12.
The nine-day relative strength index for May closed on Monday at 22. Technical traders view an RSI of 30 or less as one indication of an oversold market.
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