Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade rose on Friday on short-covering and end-of-the month technical buying, traders said. CBOT March wheat settled at $4.79-1/4 a bushel, up 7 cents on the day and above the contract's 50-day moving average. K.C. hard red winter wheat and MGEX spring wheat futures also closed higher, led by CBOT wheat.
For the month of January, CBOT March wheat rose 9-1/4 cents per bushel or about 2 percent. K.C. March hard red winter wheat rose 3-1/2 cents for the month or 0.7 percent and MGEX March spring wheat rose 6-3/4 cents or 1.4 percent. Friday's advance was limited by forecasts for a storm in the US Plains early next week. The storm should bring heavy snow that will help insulate the region's winter wheat from a cold spell later in the week, meteorologists said.
Industry sources said Russia is likely to leave its grain export rules unchanged after a meeting that followed days of speculation as to whether the major exporter could tighten or ease a wheat export tax. USDA reported export sales of US wheat in the week ended January 21 at 294,200 tonnes for old-crop and 52,800 tonnes for new crop. Trade expectations were for 250,000 to 400,000 tonnes.