Spring wheat futures at the Minneapolis Grain Exchange closed higher on Thursday with spot December leading the way up amid no deliveries posted against that month, traders said.
Thursday was the second delivery day against December and there has not been any wheat listed for delivery, a sign of strong demand for spring wheat in the cash sector.
MGE wheat closed 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 cents per bushel higher, with December up 4-1/2 at $3.76-1/2 per bushel. March was up 3-1/2 at $3.80. Pit sources said fund buying aided the advances and the December/March spread continued to narrow.
There was nothing in the export sector to boost prices. USDA on Thursday said export sales of US wheat last week totalled 250,700 tonnes, below trade estimates for 300,000 to 500,000 tonnes.
The sales tally was a marketing-year low, 42 percent below the previous week and 64 percent under the prior four-week average, according to the USDA.
Traders and analysts have been keeping a close watch on winter weather patterns in the US winter wheat growing region because crop conditions have been declining due to dry weather in the southern portion of the Plains.
Meteorlogix weather on Thursday said no major storms were imminent in the US Plains winter wheat region.
However, some snow may slip into the Northern Plains and a few showers may dot the Southern Plains over the next several days.