Wheat prices posted modest gains on Friday, thanks to a round of technical buying. Chicago March SRW futures rose 7.75 cents to $5.9325, while Kansas City March HRW futures added 2.75 cents to close at $6.08. In addition, March MGEX spring wheat futures were up 8 cents to $6.96.
Export sales exceeded expectations
The positive momentum was fuelled by wheat export sales, which exceeded expectations at 26.0 million bushels. This was well above the previous four-week average and exceeded the entire range of trade forecasts, which ranged from 5.5 million to 20.2 million bushels. However, the cumulative total for the 2023/24 marketing year is slightly behind last year’s pace at 374.3 million bushels.
Export shipments below average
In contrast, wheat export shipments were 37% below the previous four-week average, totalling 9.0 million bushels. Notable destinations included Japan, Mexico, Thailand, Taiwan, and Haiti.
China reduces wheat imports
In December, Chinese wheat imports were down nearly 44% from a year ago to 22.4 million bushels. However, the cumulative total for 2023 was still 21.5% higher than 2022, reaching 444.6 million bushels.
Preliminary volume estimates indicated 82,443 CBOT contracts, down slightly from Thursday’s final count of 87,277.