US Plains HRW wheat bids firmer on export demand

Spot basis bids for hard red winter (HRW) wheat firmed at the US Gulf Coast on Friday, reflecting increased demand from exporters following grain sales to Iraq, while basis bids in the southern Plains interior were unchanged, dealers said. The US Department of Agriculture said private exporters sold 300,000 tonnes of US hard red winter wheat to Iraq for delivery in the 2017/18 marketing year. Farmer sales of HRW wheat remained thin as Plains producers focused on harvesting fall crops such as corn. K.C. December HRW wheat futures settled up 1 cent at $4.26-3/4 a bushel.