Spring wheat futures at the Minneapolis Grain Exchange ended lower on Thursday, following a sharp drop in Chicago markets, led by corn and soya, traders said.
Traders said global posturing in the financial markets had rattled grains and other commodities, a scenario that proved to be unnerving to some grain market bulls. MGE spring wheat closed down 10 cents to up 4 cents per bushel, with March down 7-1/4 at $5.02-3/4 per bushel. May was down 6-1/2 at $5.13-1/2.
Wheat futures fell sharply on Tuesday, following a 9 percent plunge in China's main stock market, and wheat took another nosedive on Thursday, after another fall in Asian financial markets overnight.
The US stock market fell sharply on Thursday but showed signs of resiliency. Wheat futures were finding no support from the export sector. Sales of US wheat were quiet overnight and the US government's updated weekly export numbers were benign.
The US Agriculture Department said on Thursday 321,700 tonnes of wheat were sold for export last week, within estimates for 250,000 to 450,000 tonnes. Outlooks for a strong rebound in global wheat output this year continued to act as an anchor on the market and deliveries of wheat on the March contract on Thursday were heavy at 3,299 lots.
Crop weather is satisfactory for wheat production. Abundant winter precipitation in the US winter wheat region has boosted soil moisture reserves, enhancing prospects for the 2007 US winter wheat crop.