CHICAGO: US winter wheat futures climbed on Monday as dry conditions in the southern Plains wheat belt raised concern about crop damage this winter, with frigid weather expected in the region next week.
Short-covering following another expansion of speculative net short holdings in wheat also supported the market on Monday.
Benchmark Chicago Board of Trade March soft red winter wheat futures ended 2-1/4 cents higher at $4.20-1/2 a bushel, while March hard red winter wheat rose 1-3/4 cents to $4.19-1/4 a bushel. March Minneapolis spring wheat shed 3/4 cent to $6.19-1/4
Planting delays and dry conditions in the southern US Plains have left the hard red winter crop vulnerable to freeze damage, crop experts said, which could further tighten supplies of high-protein wheat.
The supplement to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission's weekly commitments report showed large speculators widened their net short position in CBOT wheat in the week to Dec. 12 by about 31,000 contracts, to 168,186 lots, the largest since April.
For K.C. hard red winter wheat, the CFTC's supplemental report showed large speculators widened their net short to 34,442 contracts, the largest since August 2016.
Export inspections of US wheat last week topped trade expectations at 585,637 tonnes, according to USDA data on Monday.
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