Spring wheat futures on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange closed mixed on Monday in a choppy session, with slipover from steep declines in Chicago Board of Trade corn and soyabeans anchoring the market, traders said.
Ideas that the wheat market was oversold and concerns about harvest delays in US winter wheat regions supported values. MGE July wheat settled up 1/4 cent at $4.33-1/2 per bushel after dipping below its 200-day moving average at $4.30-3/4.
September was unchanged at $4.42-3/4 and deferred months were unchanged to down 3 cents in thin trade. Volume was estimated by the exchange at 8,042 contracts, up from 5,125 lots on Friday. ADM Investor Services sold 500 September contracts while J.P. Morgan bought 250 September and Prudential bought 250 December, traders said.
Spreading was a feature, with July/September trading at an 8 to 8-1/2 cent carry. The wheat market was seen as oversold after steep declines in recent weeks amid seasonal pressure from the US winter whply Commodities on Saturday bought 175,000 tonnes of US soft wheat and 55,000 tonnes of Canadian soft wheat.
Weekly export inspection data was neutral. The US Department of Agriculture reported export inspections of US wheat last week at 14.4 million bushels, within a range of trade estimates for 12 million to 17 million bushels.
Export traders expect India to open bids on its 2.2-million-tonne tender on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Australia was close to resolving a dispute with India over contract specifications in a $90 million wheat deal from a previous Indian tender. On Friday's CFTC Commitments of Traders report showed large speculators pared their heavy net long position in MGE wheat futures for the week ended June 13.