Hard red winter wheat futures on the Kansas City Board of Trade ended sharply lower on Friday as a follower of sinking soyabean futures and under pressure from continued strength in the US dollar. The December closed down 24 cents, or 2.9 percent, at $7.95 after falling as low as $7.88, the lowest point since early December 2007.
Expiring September ended pit trade down 27-1/4 cents at $7.73. The losses left the December with a nine-day relative strength index of 30, a benchmark for oversold conditions.
The losses came as soybean futures settled more than 50 cents lower amid declines in crude values and a stronger dollar. Strong export sales offered limited underpinning after USDA reported export sales of US wheat in the latest week at 436,600 tonnes (all 2008/09), above trade estimates for 100,000 to 300,000 tonnes. Market speculation continued over the size of the Australian wheat crop. There were also concerns that hot days and overnight frosts were harming Argentina's 2008/09 wheat crop, which is already suffering from a prolonged drought.
There were 388 reintentions against the expiring September futures contract. MF Global customer accounts stopped 306 lots. Egypt and Ukraine are negotiating a deal to exchange Ukrainian wheat for Egyptian natural gas. Grains marketer ABB Grain Ltd says it is ready to start exports of bulk wheat after gaining accreditation from Wheat Export Australia (WEA).
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