US wheat futures fell 2 percent and hit a six-month low on Wednesday in light technical trading, pressured by end-of-year positioning and a lack off export demand, traders said Corn and soybeans also sagged in holiday-thinned volume. Grain markets remained closed in Europe. At the Chicago Board of Trade, March wheat fell 1 9 -1/ 4 cents, or 2.4 percent, at $7.74 - 1/2 per bushel after dipping to $7.73 -3/4, its lowest level since June 27.
CBOT March corn ended down 11 cents, or 1.6 percent, a t $6.93 -1/4 a bushel and most-active March soybeans settled down 17- 1/4 cents, 1.2 percent, at $14.18- 1/2 a bushel. In wheat, early selling accelerated as the March contract dropped below last week's low of $7.82-1/2.
"Right now the path of least resistance is lower, until we find someone who wants to start buying wheat and extending coverage," said Shawn McCambridge, a grains analyst with Jefferies Bache in Chicago. US soft red winter wheat, the type traded at the CBOT, has become the cheapest milling wheat in the world, but the absence of fresh ex port sales has kept a lid on futures prices.
"Until we start to show there is some actual business out there, we will continue to see pressure," McCambridge said. The US Department of Agriculture reported the amount of wheat inspected for export in the latest week at 15.128 million bushels, within a range of trade estimates for 12 million to 17 million.
USDA showed corn export inspections at 13.475 million bushels, within the range of estimates for 9 million to 14 million. Traders were monitoring crop weather in the southern US Plains hard red winter wheat region, where cold temperatures this week raised the threat of crop damage from winterkill. Temperatures in northwest Kansas were in the single digits Fahrenheit (minus 12 to minus 17 Celsius) on Wednesday morning. The Commodity Weather Group (CWG) reported sub-zero (Fahrenheit) temperatures from parts of Colorado into the northern Plains in the past two days, but said protective snowpack would limit any crop damage.
However, CWG said in a daily note to clients, "a few spots in Colorado and western Kansas may incur patchy losses due to thinner snow cover." Traders were also weighing the impact of cold weather on the winter grain crop in Russia, although CWG said damage from cold temperatures early this week would be isolated. Corn and soybeans sagged in sympathy with the declines in wheat, with improving South American crop weather adding pressure. New-crop December 2013 corn fell below psychological support at $6 for the first time since July 11, dipping to $5 .98-1/4. US farmers watch the December 2013 corn contract to gauge prices for the next harvest as they consider what to plant this spring.
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