US Plains hard red winter wheat basis bids were steady to a dime a bushel firmer Friday as farmer sales remained light. Protein premiums for railcar wheat to and through Kansas City rose 3-5 cents a bushel for 12.00- through 12.80 percent protein wheat supplies. Wheat futures at the Kansas City Board of Trade ended lower Thursday, with the May contract down 5-1/2 cents at $6.78-1/4.
Forecasts for rain in hard red winter wheat growing areas of the US Plains were seen as beneficial for the new crop. The USDA report projected global ending stocks of wheat for the 2011/12 crop year at 209.58 million tonnes, down from its February estimate of 213.1 million tonnes. USDA raised its estimate of US wheat exports by 25 million bushels to 1.0 billion.