Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat futures turned lower early Thursday on a technical setback after rising on Wednesday to 2-1/2-week highs, traders said. At 10:09 am CST (1609 GMT), wheat was down 1/2 to 1 cent per bushel, with December down 1 at $3.17-1/2 per bushel. Prudential Securities sold 200 December and Refco Inc sold 300 March, pit sources said. Traders said wheat futures were near overbought technical levels and vulnerable to a downward correction.
Short covering by commodity funds Wednesday boosted the market close to overbought technical areas. The nine-day relative strength index for December stood at 67, near the benchmark 70 level that technical traders view as an overbought mark.