Spring wheat futures on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange closed mixed in thin, choppy trade on Thursday, with new-crop months supported by strength in the Chicago Board of Trade corn market, traders said. Corn futures led the Chicago grains complex higher on concerns about US planting weather.
May spring wheat ended down 2 cents at $5.33 per bushel, with July down 2-1/2 at $5.18-1/4 and new-crop December up 1-1/2 cents at $5.25. Volume was light, estimated by the exchange at 4,831 contracts. ADM Investor Services sold 400 July contracts while J.P. Morgan and UBS Warburg each bought 100 July, traders said.
Spreading was a feature, with May/July done at a 16-cent inverse. Country Heading was a noted bare spreader, selling May and buying July. Open interest in the May contract was dwindling, dropping to 1,088 lots ahead of the open.There were two re-deliveries on the May contract for Thursday.
The Country Hedging house account took both. Wheat was under pressure at times from better-than-expected reports from an annual Kansas crop tour. After the close, the Wheat Quality Council tour issued its final results, projecting the state's 2007 wheat production at 392.7 million bushels, up from the tour's 2006 estimate of 319.2 million.
Disappointing export data was also bearish. The US Department of Agriculture on Thursday reported exports sales of US wheat last week at 215,100 tonnes (old and new crop), below estimates for 250,000 to 450,000 tonnes. Spring wheat sales totalled 37,100 tonnes.
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