Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures touched a seven-week high and finished firmer on Thursday on short covering and technical buying, traders said. CBOT March wheat ended up 1-1/2 cents to $4.34-1/2 a bushel after trading up to $4.38-3/4. That was the highest price for the most actively traded contract since December 4.
Concerns about dry conditions in the US Plains, where hard red winter wheat is grown, helped supported Kansas City and Chicago wheat futures, traders said. Precipitation needs to increase in the coming months to support the crop's development this spring, according to Radiant Solutions, a weather firm. Moisture needs are currently low, the company said.
Drought intensified in Oklahoma and Texas in the past week, with little change in Kansas, the latest weekly US Drought Monitor showed. On Friday, the US Department of Agriculture will issue export sales data for the week ended January 18. Total wheat sales are expected to be 200,000 to 500,000 tonnes, analysts said.