Chicago Board of Trade May wheat futures closed lower Thursday on technical selling ahead of the US Department of Agriculture's Friday reports, analysts said. CBOT May wheat settled down 4-1/2 cents at $4.21 per bushel. K.C. May hard red winter wheat ended 6-1/4 cents lower at $4.17-1/4 and MGEX May spring wheat rose a quarter of a cent to $5.43-1/2.
The USDA reported weekly export sales of old-crop wheat at 464,100 tonnes, above a range of trade expectations, and new-crop sales of 163,500 tonnes, in line with expectations. Analysts surveyed by Reuters expect the USDA on Friday to project a decline in US spring and total wheat plantings and a year-on-year increase in March 1 wheat stocks.