US wheat futures fell to their lowest levels since mid-December on Tuesday as weakness in outside markets and the deteriorating global economy threatened to cut world-wide demand for wheat, traders said. Some forecasts for wetter weather in the dry areas of the US Plains also weighed on wheat prices, a traders said.
Wheat futures had risen early in the trading session on Tuesday but the market gave up its gains as a stock market rally fizzled. Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat futures for March delivery fell 4-1/2 cents to close at $4.90-1/4 a bushel while CBOT May wheat dropped 4-1/4 cents to $5.01-3/4 a bushel. Funds sold 2,000 lots.
Deliveries on the CBOT March contract were 3,539 lots with a Man customer issuing 1,798 and stopping 1,888. Kansas City Board of Trade hard red winter wheat futures for March delivery were down 2 cents at $5.38-3/4 a bushel. The KCBT May contract ended down 1-3/4 cents at $5.45-1/4 a bushel after ranging from $5.41-1/4 to $5.53 on the day. Deliveries posted against the KCBT March contract totalled 99 lots, with ADM Investor Services the sole stopper. The oldest date was February 26.
Minneapolis Grain Exchange spring wheat for March delivery fell 3-3/4 cents to $6.08-1/4 a bushel while the MGE May contract was down 6 cents at $5.89-1/4 a bushel. In Kansas City, an estimated 14,120 futures traded. Minneapolis volume was seen at 3,260 futures. March wheat futures contracts were scheduled to expire on March 13. Paris milling wheat was up 0.75 to down 0.50 euro per tonne.
Ukraine boosts grain exports to 2.2 million tonnes in February. Rainfall needed in US Plains HRW wheat region, especially in parts of south-west Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. In Texas, 63 percent of the state's wheat crop was rated poor to very poor, compared with 58 percent a week earlier. The wheat crop in Kansas, the top US wheat-growing state, was 50 percent good to excellent, down from 59 percent a month earlier.
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural & Resource Economics said the country's wheat production will rise to 22.13 million tonnes in 2009/10, up from 21.40 million tonnes in 2008/09. Australia's wheat exports were seen surging 44 percent to 14.68 million tonnes in 2009/10, as production recovers after years of drought and stocks return to more normal levels. Japan was seeking to buy a total 118,000 tonnes of food wheat from the United States, Canada and Australia in a regular tender closing on Thursday.
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