US hard red winter wheat spot basis bids were steady to firmer Tuesday, with some dealers adjusting bids to spur more farmer selling. The basis was 5 cents firmer in Topeka and Wichita, Kansas, and 8 cents firmer in Lincoln, Nebraska, while holding steady in other locations.
Merchants said selling out of the country has been slow, though sporadic movement was seen amid volatility in futures prices. There was talk that despite the short HRW wheat harvest, some country elevators were anticipating a shortage of storage space when fall harvesting of row crops begins.
Harvesting was essentially wrapped up in Kansas, the top US wheat-growing state, pegged at 99 percent completed by the Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service. In Nebraska, harvesting was estimated at 80 percent done and in South Dakota the crop was pegged at 39 percent completed.
The US Department of Agriculture said overall the US winter wheat crop was 72 percent harvested as of Sunday. The futures market at the Kansas City Board of Trade rebounded Monday from the steep losses it sustained Friday, and was expected to rally today amid deterioration in spring wheat and row crop conditions.