Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade fell more than 1 percent on Wednesday on technical selling along with waning concerns about a cold spell in the southern US Plains, traders said. Temperatures are forecast to drop below freezing late this week in much of the southern Plains but not low enough to cause significant damage. Dry conditions, however, remain a concern.
Additional pressure noted from news that a vessel carrying Argentine wheat and soymeal is scheduled to arrive at port in North Carolina later this month. It would be at least the third vessel of Argentine wheat that unloads in the United States this year, at a time of plentiful domestic stocks. CBOT wheat settled down 6-1/2 cents at $4.70-3/4 per bushel, just above its 50-day moving average and its lowest close in a week. K. C. hard red winter wheat and MGEX spring wheat futures also closed lower but posted smaller declines than CBOT wheat.