Wheat Market Faces Midday Declines Amid Key Reports Ahead

At midday trading on Thursday, the wheat market is experiencing losses. Chicago SRW futures are down 3 to 4 cents for the nearby contracts. KC HRW offers minor declines, with contracts down fractionally to 2 cents. MPLS spring wheat futures are also in the red, dropping 2 to 3 cents so far. The market will close early today at 12:15 pm CST.

Delayed Export Sales Report Adds to Market Uncertainty

The weekly Export Sales report is postponed until Friday due to government offices being closed for a National Day of Mourning honoring President Carter’s funeral. Analysts anticipate wheat sales between 150,000 to 500,000 metric tons for the week ending January 2.

Winter Wheat Seedings Report Stirs Trade Predictions

As the Winter Wheat Seedings report approaches this Friday, traders expect the USDA to report total winter wheat acreage at 33.366 million acres. This would mark a decrease of 24,000 acres from the previous year. Among the categories, HRW is anticipated to be 23.73 million acres, SRW at 6.14 million acres, and white wheat at 3.49 million acres. Additionally, the December 1 Grain Stocks data is set to be released, with the trade predicting 1.565 billion bushels in wheat stocks, which would be an increase of 144 million bushels from last year. Ending stocks are expected to rise by 4 million bushels to 799 million bushels.

International Demand: Taiwan’s Wheat Purchase

In related news, Taiwanese mills have purchased 114,650 metric tons of wheat from the United States overnight, indicating ongoing global demand for U.S. wheat.

Current Wheat Futures Prices

Mar 25 CBOT Wheat is currently at $5.33 1/4, down 3 cents.

May 25 CBOT Wheat is at $5.45 1/4, down 3 1/4 cents.

Mar 25 KCBT Wheat is priced at $5.49 1/2, down 3/4 cent.

May 25 KCBT Wheat stands at $5.57 1/2, down 1 3/4 cents.

Mar 25 MGEX Wheat is at $5.82 3/4, down 2 1/4 cents.

May 25 MGEX Wheat is currently at $5.91, down 2 3/4 cents.

On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not hold (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information, please refer to the Barchart Disclosure Policy
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.