spring wheat futures on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange were mixed in late trade on Thursday as profit taking from all-time highs offset support from continued bullish exports, traders said. As of 12:45 pm CDT, Minneapolis December spring wheat was up 1/2 cent at $7.72 per bushel after reaching a contract high of $7.81-1/2.
Back months were unchanged to down 20 cents. March reached $7.90, a record high for any MGE contract month. Spot September, which is in delivery, was up 17 cents at $7.69. A setback in European markets set the weak tone in wheat, and some outlooks for improved crop weather in Australia, a key wheat exporter, added pressure.
In Paris, November milling wheat futures fell 4 percent to close at 273.5 euros per tonne. But wheat prices in Minneapolis and Kansas City rallied on news that Algeria bought 500,000 to 700,000 tonnes of optional-origin milling wheat in recent days, mostly likely from the United States.
Algeria paid between $425 and $435 per tonne cost and freight included, European traders said. "In light of the current price levels, it will certainly be US hard wheat (HRW)," a European trader said. Extending a string of recent US wheat sales, the Algerian news followed confirmation from the US Department of Agriculture that exporters sold 125,000 tonnes of US hard red winter wheat to Morocco.
On Wednesday, USDA reported sales of 200,000 tonnes of US HRW wheat to Iraq, and Egypt bought a total of 470,000 tonnes of wheat in a snap tender, including 300,000 from the United States. Other overnight business featured Japan buying 175,000 tonnes of Canadian Australian and US wheat at its weekly tender.
There were 269 overall deliveries on the September spring wheat contract for Thursday. ADM customers stopped 20 redeliveries, while customers of Fimat USA stopped 171 original deliveries and 78 redeliveries.