Wheat Fades Lower into the Weekend, As Specs Add to Shorts
The wheat market ended the week with Friday weakness. Chicago SRW futures closed out the day with losses of 7 to 8 cents this week, as July managed to gain 3 ¼ cents this week. Kansas City HRW contracts fell 11 to 12 cents on Friday, with a weekly loss of just a penny. Minneapolis spring wheat futures were 5 to 6 cents in the red on Friday, with July falling 20 ¼ cents on the week.
The weekly Commitment of Traders data released this afternoon showed money managers in Chicago wheat futures and options increasing their net short position by 13,161 contracts as of May 13th. Their new net short position was at 126,895 contracts by Tuesday, the largest in nearly two years. In Kansas City wheat, they extended their new record net short position by 8,559 contracts to 80,799 contracts.
The weekly Export Sales report now pegs the old crop commitments for wheat at 21.689 MMT, which is 97% of the USDA export forecast, with just over 3 reporting weeks left in the MY. The average for this time of year is 104%. Actual exports according to FAS are now 19.637 MMT, just 87% of the forecast, with the average shipping pace at 93%.
The FranceAgriMer estimates the French soft wheat crop rated at 73% good/excellent, which is down a slight 1 percentage point from the previous week. South Korean mills are tendering for 50,000 MT of US wheat.
Jul 25 CBOT Wheat closed at $5.25, down 7 3/4 cents,
Sep 25 CBOT Wheat closed at $5.39, down 7 1/2 cents,
Jul 25 KCBT Wheat closed at $5.16 1/2, down 11 3/4 cents,
Sep 25 KCBT Wheat closed at $5.30 1/2, down 11 1/2 cents,
Jul 25 MGEX Wheat closed at $5.73 1/4, down 6 3/4 cents,
Sep 25 MGEX Wheat closed at $5.87 1/4, down 5 3/4 cents,
On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.