Soft red winter wheat futures at the Chicago Board of Trade closed lower on Friday and contract lows were set amid quiet exports and on spillover pressure from the sharp declines posted on Thursday, traders said.
The market was also pressured by corn/wheat spreading, with the CBOT December wheat/corn spread narrowing to 97-3/4 cents by the close. The spread settled at $1.01-1/4 on Thursday.
CBOT wheat closed 2-3/4 to 6 cents per bushel lower, with December down 3 at $3.03-3/4 per bushel. The new contract low for December is $3.00-1/2, below the previous low of $3.05-3/4 set on Thursday.
Volume was modest, estimated at 28,157 futures and 4,895 options.
Wheat futures held firm early in the day on a mild pre-weekend bounce. The market tumbled on Thursday following the release of a bearish US wheat production number in USDA's September annual small grains summary. The declines drove the market into oversold territory on technical charts, leaving open the possibility of a short-covering rally.
The nine-day relative strength index for December stood at 30 by Thursday's close. Technical traders view an RSI of 30 or less as an oversold market.
There also was some underpinning amid reminders of lower-quality wheat coming out of Canada due to a cool, wet harvest. Canada's largest grain handler, Agricore United, on Thursday said that only about 40 percent of the country's wheat harvest has achieved the top two grades, compared with about 80 percent making the top grades in a normal year.
Exports were quiet overnight and cash basis bids for SRW in the Midwest were steady while movement remained quiet. Cash dealers in the Midwest are busy dealing with the active harvest of US corn and soy.
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