Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade ended higher on Thursday, with the most-active March contract setting a two-week top on technical buying and short-covering, traders said. K.C. hard red winter wheat and MGEX spring wheat futures also climbed. Wheat futures advanced despite a firmer dollar, which makes US grains less attractive on the world market, and disappointing weekly export sales.
USDA reported export sales of US wheat in the latest week at 225,100 tonnes, a five-week low that was below trade expectations for 300,000 to 500,000 tonnes. Algeria's state grains agency bought at least 500,000 tonnes of milling wheat in a tender at between $195 and $197 a tonne, cost and freight. Likely origins include France as well as Argentina, where plans by the new government to liberalize the economy are expected to stir export flows. CBOT reported 23 December soft red wheat deliveries and one delivery of K.C. hard red winter wheat. MGEX reported one December spring wheat delivery. The USDA is scheduled to release supply/demand tables for major US crops on Friday as part of its annual long-term projections report, which will be released in full in February.