US wheat futures fell on Friday as a strong dollar made US supplies of wheat relatively more expensive to overseas buyers, traders said. Forecasts for good weather in the US Plains also weighed amid concerns about building up already considerable global stockpiles of wheat. The benchmark Chicago Board of Trade December soft red winter wheat futures contract closed down 2-3/4 cents at $5.59-3/4 per bushel.
Funds sold 2,000 lots. For the week, CBOT wheat was up 3.8 percent. At the Kansas City Board of Trade, the December hard red winter wheat contract dropped 4-1/4 cents to $5.56-3/4 a bushel. Minneapolis Grain Exchange spring wheat for December delivery was down 4-1/2 cents at $5.64 a bushel.
Estimates for Australia's 2009/10 wheat crop have been cut by up to 5 percent after temperatures rose to record levels in some growing regions. Japan issued a tender to buy 106,000 tonnes of wheat from the United States and Canada. French wheat exports to Egypt could reach 2 million tonnes in 2009/10.