The wheat market extended its rally to three-year highs for winter wheat contracts heading into the weekend. Chicago SRW contracts surged 10½ to 24¼ cents across the board on Friday, with September settling 85½ cents higher for the week. KC HRW futures posted gains of 10 to 24¼ cents in the front months, as September climbed 71½ cents since the previous Friday. MPLS spring wheat joined the advance, with contracts rising 8¼ to 12½ cents and September up 47 cents this week.
Export disruptions and limitations from the Black Sea region have injected premium into the market. A merchant vessel off the Romanian coast caught fire late Thursday and subsequently sank. Reports indicate the vessel was struck, though additional details remain unavailable.
Export sales data shows wheat sales for the current marketing year at 8.342 MMT, representing a 31% decline from the same week last year. This equates to 40% of the USDA export projection, trailing the five-year average of 52%.
CFTC’s weekly Commitment of Traders report revealed that managed money reduced its CBT wheat net short position by another 12,314 contracts during the week of August 25, bringing the net short to 14,171 contracts. Nearby Chicago has rallied 82 cents since Tuesday’s close. In KC wheat, speculative traders added another 9,227 contracts to their net long position, which now stands at 44,062 contracts.
Ukraine’s Agricultural Minister expects the 2027 winter wheat crop will “definitely” fall below the current level of 4.7 million hectares (11.61 million acres).
Sep 26 CBOT Wheat closed at $7.67, up 24¼ cents.
Dec 26 CBOT Wheat closed at $7.84, up 23¼ cents.
Sep 26 KCBT Wheat closed at $8.27¾, up 24¼ cents.
Dec 26 KCBT Wheat closed at $8.44¼, up 22¼ cents.
Sep 26 MIAX Wheat closed at $7.45¼, up 12½ cents.
Dec 26 MIAX Wheat closed at $7.69¼, up 11½ cents.
