Spot cash basis bids for hard red winter wheat in the US central and southern Plains production area were mostly steady on Thursday with new-crop wheat supplies seen in tight hands, dealers said.
The lack of selling out of the country was helping the market hold on to an underlying firm tone, cash merchants said.
"The country is just not selling," said one cash trader.
Deliveries posted against the Kansas City Board of Trade July HRW wheat futures contract came in at 458 lots, most redeliveries out of Hutchinson, Kansas. Cargill Investor Services stopped all the contracts, which had an oldest date of June 22.
Futures were expected to post at least slight gains on Thursday, supported by news that Egypt's GASC purchased 240,000 tonnes of wheat, with half being SRW wheat from the United States and the other half French soft wheat.
In other export news, South Korea's flour millers overnight bought 20,000 tonnes of US wheat and are seeking another 25,500 tonnes on Friday.
The USDA's export sales report was also seen as supportive to the market. The USDA said US wheat sales last week totaled 496,200 tonnes, near the high end of trade estimates for 300,000 to 500,000 tonnes.