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CBOT wheat ends higher on covering, gains in corn

CHICAGO: Soft red winter wheat futures at the Chicago Board of Trade closed higher on Thursday on position squaring ahead of Friday's government stocks and plantings reports and on spill-over strength from corn, traders said.

CBOT wheat closed 1 to 4-1/2 cents higher, with May up 4-1/4 at $2.55-1/2.

Corn and soyabeans ended higher amid forecasts for dry near-term weather in the Midwest, where soil moisture has been depleted by an unseasonably warm and dry winter.

"A lot of the negative news had already been built into wheat and with the acres being down there was a lot of short covering at these low levels," said Don Roose, analyst for US Commodities in Des Moines, Iowa.

Wheat positions were being squared ahead of Friday's release of the US Department of Agriculture's planting intentions and quarterly stocks reports.

An average of analysts' estimates pegged the 2000/2001 US total wheat acreage at 62.01 million, below the 62.81 million seeded for the 1999/2000 season. Spring wheat acreage was estimated by analysts at 15.48 million, slightly below the 1999/2000 tally of 15.5 million. Durum acreage was estimated at 3.77 million, below the 4.07 million last year.

The analysts estimated US wheat stocks as of March 1 at 1.45 billion bushels, the same as the 1.45 billion bushels on hand in the US on March 1, 1999.

The USDA's weekly export sales report was neutral to bearish for wheat futures.

USDA early Thursday said net export sales of US wheat during the week ended March 23 totalled 273,100 tonnes, within the range of estimates for 200,000 to 350,000 tonnes.

The tally was 13 percent below the previous week and 35 percent below the four week average, according to the USDA.

In other export news, Philippine flour miller Pilmico Foods Corp. bought 26,000 tonnes of Canadian hard wheat and 14,000 tonnes of US soft white wheat.

Traders continued to eye weather developments in the US winter wheat growing region.

Weather Services Corp. early Thursday reported rain during the past 24 hours, mostly 0.10 to 0.50 inch, mainly in southern Kansas extending southward.

Crop conditions range from excellent to good in eastern Colorado, mostly good or improving from fair to good in southern Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma, and fair to poor in Texas with only some recent improvement to fields not already ploughed up, WSC said. Where development is ongoing it is ahead of normal, according to WSC.

It will be mostly dry in the Plains Saturday with a chance of showers and thunderstorms favouring the south and east on Sunday, WSC said. It will be dry Monday with temperatures near normal Saturday and above normal Sunday through Monday, WSC said.

Technicians cited support in the May contract at $2.49 and resistance at $2.52-1/2.

Funds bought 500 lots. FIMAT Futures bought 500 May contracts and sold 100 each of May, July and December, ING Derivatives bought 300 July, E.D. & F. Man International bought 100 May Cargill Inc. sold 200 May and Lehman Bros. sold 300 May.

CBOT wheat futures volume was estimated by the CBOT at 13,000 lots, above the 12,344 lots traded Wednesday.

Wheat options volume was estimated at 3,000 lots.-Reuters