Spot basis bids for hard red winter wheat were steady on Tuesday, with wheat demand noted in some spot locations but Gulf business still thin, merchants said.
"I think we'll see a little more movement in the next few weeks," said one Kansas City cash trader. "There are some specific needs for certain areas, but people don't need volume, they just need a few cars here and there."
Protein premiums for railcar wheat to and through Kansas City were steady to 3 cents higher, with 11.40 percent protein wheat getting the greatest jump.
Concerns about the condition of the new crop continued as deterioration of the new winter wheat crop was noted in top-producing Kansas.
The US Department of Agriculture reported Monday that only 27 percent of the Kansas wheat crop was rated in good to excellent condition, a drop from 52 percent the previous month.
Oklahoma wheat was 70 percent poor to very poor, worse than the 58 percent rated poor to very poor a month ago. Texas wheat, conversely, was rated 87 percent poor to very poor, a 2 percentage point improvement from the previous week.
Futures prices at the Kansas City Board of Trade were expected to get a boost from the decline in the Kansas crop, with traders calling the market steady to a penny a bushel higher.
Forecasts for rain in the Plains were expected to limit gains, however. Rain pressure led the market to settle steady to 7-1/4 lower on Monday, with the May contract down 6 cents at $4.39-1/2, and July down 5-1/2 cents at $4.43.
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