US wheat futures closed higher on Thursday on a short-covering bounce after Wednesday's sell-off. CBOT May up 4-1/4 cents at $4.54-3/4 per bushel. Funds bought 3,000 lots. Managed funds hold a massive net short position in CBOT wheat, leaving the market open to periodic bouts of short-covering. KCBT May up 8-1/4 at $4.70. MGEX May up 7 cents at $4.89.
USDA's weekly export sales report showed export sales of US wheat last week at 483,600 tonnes, above estimates for 300,000 to 450,000 tonnes. Market seen as oversold; CBOT May nine-day RSI stood at 28, within the oversold technical range of 0 to 30. Egypt's GASC buys 60,000 tonnes Russian wheat; no bids from United States. Windy, warmer weather boosting growth and development of US winter wheat crop.