Spot basis bids for hard red winter wheat were steady to weaker in the southern US Plains on Friday following a flurry of farmer sales in recent weeks that replenished supply pipelines, dealers said. Producer sales slowed this week as K.C. hard red winter wheat futures slumped ahead of the Christmas holiday.
Forecasts called for cold temperatures in the central Plains next week that could damage wheat in areas that lack much snow cover, including portions of Nebraska, Colorado and western Kansas, the Commodity Weather Group said. Protein premiums for railcar wheat to and through Kansas City rose 22 cents a bushel on Wednesday for ordinary through 13.80 percent protein wheat, and rose 5 cents for wheat with 14.00 percent protein. The increases followed a drop in premiums earlier in the week. As of 10:27 am CST (1627 GMT), K.C. March hard red winter wheat futures were down 1-1/4 cents at $6.42-3/4 a bushel.