Wheat futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were higher at midsession on Thursday, rallying from Wednesday's lower close on bullish weekly export data and an outlook for tighter global wheat supplies, traders said.
The London-based International Grains Council cut its 2007/08 world wheat production estimate to 614 million tonnes, down 7 million from its May forecast. The IGC also pared its world wheat ending stocks forecast to 111 million tonnes, below the US Agriculture Department's latest estimate of 112.03 million.
French wheat futures rallied to new historic highs after the IGC report.
As of 11:05 am CDT (1605 GMT), CBOT July wheat was up 2-1/2 cents at $6.08-1/2 per bushel, staying inside of Wednesday's trading range. Deferred months were up 4-1/2 to down 3 cents.
Much of the early buying stemmed from screen-based trade, CBOT traders said. In the open-outcry market, J. P Morgan and Fimat USA each bought 100 September.
Weekly export data was bullish. The USDA reported export sales of US wheat at 622,800 tonnes, above trade estimates for 200,000 to 400,000 tonnes. CBOT July wheat stayed above all key moving averages. The contract's nine-day relative strength index stood at 67 ahead of the open, near the 70-to-100 range that technical traders view as an overbought signal.
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