By Commodity News Service Canada
Winnipeg, Oct. 24 – Minneapolis, Kansas City, and Chicago wheat futures closed lower on Thursday, undermined by profit taking following gains seen in recent sessions, market watchers said.
Further weakness came from the USDA’s weekly export report (which was not made available during the 16-day government shutdown), as sales during the week ended October 3 totaled 653,600 metric tonnes, which was down 22% from the previous week. Concerns about wheat production in Argentina, Brazil and the former Soviet Union did provide prices with some support.
Prices in US$ per bushel:
CBOT Wheat Dec 6.9650 dn 0.0525
Mar 7.0700 dn 0.0450
MGEX Spring Wheat Dec 7.5200 dn 0.0675
Mar 7.6225 dn 0.0625
KCBT Red Wheat Dec 7.6425 dn 0.0650
Mar 7.6350 dn 0.0600
– There are reports that India cancelled its latest tender to sell wheat out of state reserves due to poor bids. India was asking for US$300 per tonne, while the highest bid was US$269 per tonne.
– According to a Reuters’ poll, 2013/14 wheat production in Australia is expected to be 25.3 million tonnes. However, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) has wheat production pegged at 24.5 million tonnes.
– The USDA reported that export sales for the week ended October 3 totaled 653,600 tonnes. The leading US wheat buyers during that period were Brazil at 192,500 tonnes, South Korea at 173,600 tonnes and Nigeria at 101,500 tonnes.
