US Plains hard red winter wheat basis bids were holding steady on Monday amid only scattered spot mill demand, merchants said. Protein premiums for railcar wheat to and through Kansas City were 1 cent a bushel higher for ordinary wheat and 3 cents firmer for 13-14 percent protein supplies.
But the market was generally quiet, wheat traders said. Seeding of the new crop was nearly completed, with good weather in many areas fuelling healthy early progress.
Wheat futures remained volatile. At the Kansas City Board of Trade, wheat futures ended Friday with the December contract up 1-3/4 cents at $8.06-1/4 a bushel and March up 3/4 cent at $8.16-1/2. Overnight action was mixed. The market was expected to open 2-4 cents lower on Monday, pressured by weakness in outside markets and slowed exports.
In world wheat news, Iraq's erratic wheat procurement policy since January is forecast to result in an estimated 500,000-tonne shortage, officials and trade sources said on Monday. They said that although Iraq had now purchased most of its annual need of 3 million tonnes, only 2.5 million tonnes could be delivered by year-end. And there was news from Italy that farmers there were looking to plant more wheat and possibly less rice.
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