Soft red winter wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade collapsed after early strength on Friday, and were sharply lower at midsession on technical selling by trend-following funds, traders said.
Wheat futures rallied early in the session after the US Department of Agriculture reduced its estimate for US 2006/07 winter wheat production. The figure included a larger-than-expected cut in the US hard red winter wheat crop, which has struggled with drought.
As of 11:25 am CST (1625 GMT), CBOT July wheat was down 5 cents at $3.78-1/2 per bushel, after trading in a 17-1/2 cent range from $3.73 to $3.90-1/2. Deferred months were down 4-3/4 to 6-1/2 cents.