CHICAGO: US wheat futures fell on Wednesday on a mild technical setback, traders said.

The benchmark Chicago Board of Trade March soft red winter wheat futures contract closed below its five-day and 30-day moving averages during Wednesday’s session.

Buyers stepped in after the contract dipped below its 20-day moving average.

Analysts were expecting a US Agriculture Department report on Thursday morning to show that wheat export sales totaled between 250,000 tonnes and 650,000 tonnes in the week ended December 10.

Grain exporters look unlikely to accelerate shipments of Russian wheat before an export tax is implemented in mid-February, with farmers expected to be in no rush to release supplies, particularly given poor prospects for next year’s harvest.—Reuters