The wheat complex experienced declines across winter wheat contracts on Friday, with Chicago SRW futures closing 2.5 to 3.5 cents lower, despite a weekly gain of 17 cents for May. KC HRW futures fell by 5.25 to 10 cents, yet May recorded a 22.25-cent increase for the week. In contrast, MPLS spring wheat rose by 1.5 to 4.5 cents on Friday, accumulating a weekly gain of 22.75 cents. Weather forecasts indicate precipitation shifting to portions of western Kansas and parts of Oklahoma and Texas.
As of April 21, managed money in CBT wheat futures added 3,451 contracts to their net short position, reaching a total of 10,717 contracts. In KC wheat, they increased their net long position by 11,085 contracts, totaling 28,009. Additionally, the weekly export sales report showed total commitments at 24.67 million metric tons (MMT), representing a 15% rise compared to the same time last year, which aligns with 101% of the USDA export projection.
Current estimations for the Russian wheat crop stand at 90 MMT, down 1 MMT from previous forecasts. The French soft wheat crop’s status remains at 83% Good/Excellent, a decrease of 1 percentage point from the prior week. Saudi Arabia also issued a tender to procure 710,000 MT of wheat, with a deadline set for Friday.
