The Minneapolis spring wheat futures closed weak on Thursday, following the technical sell-off in the Chicago soft red winter wheat market, traders said. Minneapolis December wheat closed 9 cents per bushel lower at $4.90-1/2, just above its 50-day moving average of $4.88-3/4 and 100-day average of $4.87.
December hit a low of $4.90, now a triple-bottom on the charts. The deferred months-ended 7 to 10-1/2 cents lower. In Chicago, the December contract fell to a six-week low on profit-taking and a disappointing export pace, closing 12-3/4 cents lower at $4.68-3/4.
Minneapolis spread trade was active between Kansas City and Chicago but commodity fund interest was minimal, traders said. Volume was estimated at 8,554 futures, down from the 10,784 futures that traded on Wednesday. The US Agriculture Department reported that US wheat export sales last week reached 323,100 tonnes, within trade estimates for 250,000 to 450,000 tonnes.
Accumulated US wheat exports to date and total commitments to date were down 19 percent from a year ago. Some underlying support stemmed from concerns about the newly planted US winter wheat crop, with dry weather threatening hard red winter wheat in the Plains and cold, wet conditions slowing the growth of soft red wheat in the Midwest.
Private forecaster Meteorlogix said the Plains would stay mostly dry for the next week to 10 days. Overnight export business was viewed routine. Japan bought 125,000 tonnes of wheat at its weekly tender, as expected, including 65,000 tonnes of US origin, 40,000 tonnes from Canada and 20,000 tonnes from Australia. European customs data showed UK wheat exports from July through September were down 25 percent from the same period last season.
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