US wheat futures declined to a three-week low on Thursday, extending losses to a fourth straight session in a technical selloff that follows lower-than-expected weekly export sales, traders said. Most-active CBOT March wheat finished near its session low of $3.96-1/2 per bushel and was set to test its life-of-contract low of $3.93 reached on December 1. MGEX spring wheat fell about 1 percent, compared to losses of 0.7 percent in CBOT wheat.
The ample global grain supplies coupled with lackluster international demand for US wheat, has weighed on prices. Warmer temperatures in the central United States also reduced the potential for freeze damage after a deep freeze last weekend prompted concerns that dormant wheat plants could be killed, boosting futures late last week. The US Department of Agriculture said export sales of US wheat in the week ended December 15 totaled 297,800 tonnes, just below the low end of analyst estimates ranging from 300,000 to 500,000 tonnes.