Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade fell 1.5 percent on Thursday as poor weekly export sales data underscored weak demand for US supplies, traders said. CBOT March wheat settled down 7-1/4 cents at $4.72-3/4 per bushel. K.C. hard red winter and MGEX spring wheat futures also fell, following CBOT.
USDA reported export sales of old-crop US wheat in the week to January 28 at 66,200 tonnes, a marketing year low, and 87,800 tonnes of new-crop wheat. Trade expectations were for old-crop sales of 200,000 to 400,000 tonnes. CBOT wheat sagged despite a drop in the dollar, which can make US grains more competitive on the world market. The dollar fell for a second day on continued skepticism that the Federal Reserve will be able to hike interest rates this year.
Traders also shrugged off smaller-than-expected Canadian stocks data. Statistics Canada reported Canadian all-wheat stocks as of December 31 at 20.7 million tonnes, down 12 percent from a year earlier and below an average of trade estimates for 21.8 million tonnes. Algeria's state grains agency OAIC bought 840,000 tonnes of optional-origin milling wheat in a tender this week, European traders said. They estimated the purchase price at around $178 a tonne, cost and freight, one of the lowest prices paid by OAIC in several years.
The head of Russia's Anti-Monopoly Service said he was against introducing prohibitive duties on grain, Interfax news agency reported. Ahead of the USDA's monthly supply/demand report on February 9, analysts expect the government to raise its forecast of US 2015/16 wheat ending stocks.