Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trader were mostly higher on Thursday, underpinned by spillover strength from CBOT soybeans and technical buying, traders said. Seasonal harvest pressure and bearish exports limited upward price momentum. July wheat was up 1 cent at $3.24 per bushel, while deferred months were up 3/4 to down 1/2 cent.
The July contract was holding above its 50-day moving average and hovering near its 20-day MA at $3.22-1/2. Trade was thin. Refco Inc was an early buyer of 200 July while Cargill Investor Services sold 100 July, traders said. Showers overnight and early Thursday slowed harvest of the US Plains hard red winter wheat crop, the Meteorlogix weather service said. But drier and hotter weather this weekend through next week will boost harvest activity.
The US Department of Agriculture reported export sales of US wheat last week at 335,900 tonnes, near the low end of a range of estimates for 300,000 to 500,000 tonnes. Exports overnight included Japan's purchase of 106,000 tonnes of wheat, with 61,000 tonnes coming from the United States.