Wheat Markets Decline as Dollar Gains Strength
Trading Begins with Drops Across Major Wheat Contracts
Wheat prices showed weakness as trading opened on Monday, with all major markets down. On Friday, the wheat complex also closed lower. Chicago SRW futures fell between 3 1/4 and 4 3/4 cents, although December futures still gained 7 ¾ cents for the week. Kansas City (KC) hard red winter (HRW) contracts recorded losses of 1 ¼ to 2 ½ cents, but December was up 14 ¼ cents weekly. Meanwhile, Minneapolis (MPLS) spring wheat was down slightly, losing up to 2 1/4 cents, while December grew by 13 ¾ cents over the week. December wheat options expired last Friday, leading to the first notice day coming up this Friday. The US dollar index reached its strongest level in two years, exerting additional pressure on markets.
Trader Positions Show Increase in Short Contracts
The CFTC’s Commitment of Traders report revealed that managed money has maintained a net short position of 51,546 contracts in Chicago wheat, a rise of 6,239 contracts from the previous week. In KC HRW, the net short position increased to 29,375 contracts, gaining 4,277 contracts. Notably, for MGE spring wheat, the net short position approached a record, now at 30,002 contracts, which reflects an increase of 7,578 contracts from the prior week.
Export Sales Data Reveals Year-Over-Year Gains
Export Sales data released on Thursday showed that wheat shipments for the marketing year increased by 32% year-over-year, totaling 10.078 million metric tons (MMT). This constitutes 44% of the USDA’s projected total for the marketing year and is slightly behind the 47% average pace. Current total commitments have reached 14.939 MMT, representing a 23% increase from last year and 67% of the USDA’s target, which is just shy of the 69% average pace.
French Wheat Crop Progresses Well
In Europe, the French soft wheat crop has reached 90% planting, up from 78% the previous week and significantly higher than the 73% reported last year. The condition of the crop is also promising, with 88% rated as good or excellent, an improvement from 83% last year.
Latest Wheat Futures Prices
Here are the closing prices for wheat futures:
- Dec 24 CBOT Wheat: Closed at $5.44 1/4, down 4 1/2 cents, now down 8 1/4 cents.
- Mar 25 CBOT Wheat: Closed at $5.64 3/4, down 4 3/4 cents, currently down 7 3/4 cents.
- Dec 24 KCBT Wheat: Closed at $5.54 1/4, down 1 1/4 cents, currently down 9 cents.
- Mar 25 KCBT Wheat: Closed at $5.65 1/2, down 1 3/4 cents, currently down 9 1/4 cents.
- Dec 24 MGEX Wheat: Closed at $5.86, down 2 cents, currently down 5 cents.
- Mar 25 MGEX Wheat: Closed at $6.01 1/2, down 3/4 cent, currently down 6 1/2 cents.
On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not hold any positions in the commodities mentioned in this article. All information and data contained herein are provided for informational purposes only. For more details, please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Nasdaq, Inc.
