Basis bids for hard red winter wheat in the US Plains were steady on Friday, with rains across the region helping the newly planted crop. Traders said areas in northern Oklahoma got up to six inches of rain on Thursday. "Some of the wheat is coming out and the rains will be good for the crop," a Oklahoma trader said.
Farmer selling of wheat remained slow, while mills were mostly hand-to-mouth buyers. USDA pegged 2009/10 US wheat ending stocks at 864 million bushels, above the average trade estimate of 802 million. The USDA, in its October crop report, estimated the soybean crop at 3.250 billion bushels, below an average of trade estimates for 3.281 billion bushels.
The USDA pegged the corn crop at 13.018 billion bushels, above an average trade estimate for 12.986 billion bushels. Kansas City Board of Trade wheat futures were expected to open 3 to 5 cents per bushel lower amid a higher dollar and large global supplies of wheat.