US wheat futures closed higher on Wednesday as a falling dollar, a cold snap in the US Plains and a good export tender line-up boosted prices. Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat closed unchanged to 17 cents per bushel higher, with March up 13-1/2 at $5.57-1/2 per bushel.
Kansas City hard red winter wheat closed 12-1/2 to 14-1/2 cents per bushel higher, with March up 13-1/4 at $5.78-1/4. Minneapolis spring wheat closed 11 to 16-1/4 cents per bushel higher, with March up 11-3/4 at $6.19 per bushel. Volume was on the lighter side. In Chicago, an estimated at 51,736 futures and 11,969 options trade. Kansas City wheat trade was pegged at 10,385 futures and Minneapolis trade was estimated at 3,165 futures.
In Chicago, funds bought 5,000 lots. Dollar fell to 2-1/2 month low versus euro and new 13-1/2 year low versus the yen after a big US rate cut late on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia seeking wheat, Jordan buys 50,000 tonnes of Russian wheat and Japan buys 49,933 tonnes of wheat.
Very cold weather in US northern Plains could dip into the southern Plains HRW wheat region and harm some of the crop that has minimal snow cover. Drier and warmer weather this week helps advance wheat harvest in Australia. Argentina's Agriculture Secretariat cuts estimate for 2008/09 wheat production to 9 million tonnes compared with 10.1 million a month ago.