CBOT wheat ends up on declining US crop ratings, technical buying

CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures closed higher on Tuesday on technical buying and a surprise decline in US winter wheat condition ratings that raised concerns about supplies of the food grain, traders said.

CBOT March soft red winter wheat settled up 13 cents at $6.17-1/2 per bushel.

The contract dipped below Monday's low but rallied to close above Monday's high, a bullish technical signal.

K.C. March hard red winter wheat ended up 10-1/4 cents at $5.70-3/4 a bushel and MGEX March spring wheat rose 8-1/4 cents to finish at $5.50-3/4 a bushel.

The US Department of Agriculture late on Monday rated 43% of the US winter wheat crop in good to excellent condition, down from 46% a week earlier, bucking analyst expectations for an improvement.

Additional support stemmed from a softer dollar, which tends to make US grains more competitive globally.

Traders were exiting long corn/short wheat spread positions ahead of first notice day for deliveries against CBOT December wheat and corn contracts on Monday, Nov. 30, analysts said.

A group of South Korean flour mills issued a tender to buy an estimated 80,600 tonnes of milling wheat to be sourced from the United States, European traders said.