CBOT wheat ends down

Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade closed sharply lower on Monday, retreating from 2-1/2 week highs on profit-taking and corn/wheat spreading, traders said. Reminders of the slow pace of US wheat exports added to the bearish tone.
CBOT December wheat settled down 9-3/4 cents, or 1.9 percent, at $4.90-1/4 per bushel, after reaching $5.08, its highest price since November 8. March ended down 5 cents at $5.14 and deferreds were down 4 to 14 cents. Funds were net sellers of 4,000 lots. Deutsche Bank sold 2,500 December 2007, traders said.
Contract highs were set overnight in several deferred CBOT wheat contracts, including new-crop July, September and December 2007. But in a weak technical sign, prices failed to match those levels during the day session.
Spot December had pressure from firms liquidating long positions ahead of first notice day for deliveries on Thursday. Weekly export inspections issued by the US Agriculture Department early Monday came in on the low end of estimates, casting a bearish tone over the market. The government said 13.5 million bushels of wheat were inspected for export last week, compared with trade estimates for 13 million to 19 million.
The USDA said year-to-date wheat inspections totalled 401.4 million bushels, down 19 percent from a year ago. In overnight news, China said it sold 1.08 million tonnes of wheat from state reserves during the weekend in an effort to boost supplies and help ease rising domestic prices. CBOT traders said the news was viewed as an internal adjustment that had little market impact.
India said 3.2 million tonnes of imported wheat had arrived at its ports, part of the 5.5 million tonnes contracted after a poor crop. The Egyptian government expects farmers to plant 3.1 million acres of wheat this year, about the same as last year. Wheat futures had light underlying support from concerns about recent dryness in the US Plains stressing the new crop of hard red winter wheat.
After the close, the USDA said 53 percent of the US winter wheat crop was rated in good to excellent condition, down from 57 percent the previous week. Declines were noted in key HRW states including Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Traders were awaiting the release on Monday afternoon of CFTC Commitments of Traders report, which was delayed from Friday due to the US Thanksgiving Day holiday last week.