Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade fell about 2 percent on Friday on technical selling and ample global supplies, along with forecasts for timely rains in the southern US Plains next week, traders said. A major US weather forecasting model showed showers in the last half of next week that should boost newly-planted hard red winter wheat fields in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, and encourage producers who have been delaying seeding because of dry soils.
Chart-based selling noted as CBOT December wheat fell below $5 a bushel and below the September 25 low of $4.96-1/4. The contract settled at $4.92-1/4, down 10-1/4 cents on the day. K.C. hard red winter and MGEX spring wheat futures also closed lower, posting bigger declines than CBOT wheat. Market shrugged at news that Informa Economics cut its forecast of US 2016 all-wheat plantings to 54.0 million acres, from 54.744 million acres previously. The firm put winter wheat plantings for 2016 at 39.3 million acres, below its previous forecast of 39.7 million acres.
USDA reported weekly export sales of US wheat at 460,400 tonnes for 2015-16, above a range of trade expectations for 250,000 to 450,000 tonnes. For the week, CBOT December wheat fell 17 cents a bushel or about 3 percent. K.C. December wheat fell 16-3/4 cents and MGEX December spring wheat fell 17-1/4 cents.