Hard red winter wheat futures on the Kansas City Board of Trade closed sharply lower on Monday in extended profit-taking, traders said. The July contract ended down 14-1/2 cents at $5.82 per bushel, while the September closed down 10-1/2 cents at $5.84-1/2 and December ended down 19-3/4 cents at $5.98-1/2.
The market opened with bulls appearing in the driver's seat as July rose to $6.04 and September climbed early to $6.01. But pricing rapidly reversed course as buyers dried up amid overbought market indicators.
In the slide, July fell as low as $5.73, or 4 percent, while September skidded as low as $5.70, or 4.2 percent. Fimat USA was the featured player, selling 3,800 September, while Man Financial and J.P. Morgan each sold 800 September and ADM sold 700 September, floor sources said. Pricing has been volatile over recent days. July wheat rose the 30-cent limit to a new contract high of $6.30-1/4 on Friday, while September put in a new high at $6.36 on Friday. "Since we enjoyed most of the gains, we're going to get most of the losses," one KCBT trader said.
Traders said wheat prices remained vulnerable to wide price swings amid a mix of market news, including variable yields and quality in western areas of the Plains, where harvest was continuing, and extensive crop problems in some central and eastern areas of Kansas, the top US wheat-growing state. In export news, Iraq finalised deals to buy 300,000 tonnes of US hard wheat but was still negotiating terms of shipment, trade sources said.
Also, Egypt's main wheat buyer on Saturday bought 305,000 tonnes of wheat, including 175,000 tonnes of US soft red winter wheat. The rest was of Russian or Kazakh origin. USDA said Monday that weekly export inspections of US wheat tallied 22.156 million bushels, above a range of trade estimates for 15-20 million bushels.
Also, private exporters reported the sale of 105,900 tonnes of wheat, including 42,700 tonnes of HRW wheat, to Guatemala for the 2007/08 marketing year, the US Agriculture Department said Monday.
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