Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade ended higher Friday on a technical bounce after a three-session skid, but still fell on a weekly basis on ample global stocks and poor export demand for US supplies. Traders appeared to vacate some new short positions established during Thursday's sharp sell-off. Open interest in CBOT wheat rose by 9,700 contracts during Thursday's slide.
CBOT May wheat hit resistance at its 30-day moving average near $5.08. The 50-day moving average that the contract fell through a day earlier, near $5.15, is now acting as chart resistance, traders said.
K.C. hard red winter and MGEX spring wheat futures also closed lower.
Values at all three US wheat markets have been pressured by strong global competition for export business, particularly with the dollar hovering near a 12-year high.
For the week, CBOT May wheat fell 22-1/4 cents per bushel or 4.2 percent. K.C. May wheat fell 16-1/2 cents or 2.9 percent, MGEX May spring wheat fell 26-1/2 cents or 4.4 percent.
Trade expects USDA next week to report US March 1 wheat stocks up nearly 8 percent from a year ago. US all-wheat seedings should fall year-on-year, but analysts expect plantings of spring and durum wheat to rise.
Light rains in the southern Plains on Friday should benefit winter wheat, but forecasts call for mostly dry conditions going forward.
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