December wheat was 2 1/4 cents higher overnight. The dollar was moderately higher. December wheat sold off for the second day in a row yesterday, but managed to post a modest recovery and close near the mid point of the day’s trading range. This once again leaves the December contract near the mid point of its 3-month trading range. Traders indicate that this week’s selling came of a firmer dollar that triggered a wave of profit taking in commodity markets. Dry weather continues across most of the US winter wheat belt with a narrow band of moderate showers bringing some localized relief to Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri into this morning. Showers may become moderate to heavy by tomorrow in central and eastern Kansas, SE Nebraska and parts of Oklahoma. Lighter and scattered rains may extend a couple hundred miles around this system in all directions. This would bring substantial relief to parts of the very dry hard red winter wheat, but the soft red belt in the Midwest would remain in need of substantial moisture. One analyst noted that rain needs to come soon since the crop is nearing dormancy. Egypt bought 235,000 tonnes of wheat yesterday for shipment in mid January. This included 115,000 tonnes from the US, 60,000 tonnes from France and 60,000 tonnes from Australia. Algeria announced yesterday that they had bought an additional 150,000 tonnes of optional origin wheat on a tender that had resulted in a previous sale of 200,000 tonnes of wheat that was announced last Thursday. An Israeli group bought about 15,000 tonnes of feed wheat today, and Japan bought 104,405 tonnes of milling wheat on its regular weekly tender. A senior official in Morocco said yesterday that the hard wheat custom duty paid by importers will be waived for the remainder of the year (2010) due to a 30% drop in grain production and a commensurate need to increase imports. An import duty on soft wheat was eliminated in September. The duty on hard wheat had been 80% while the duty on soft wheat was 135%. The USDA’s Export Sales report will be delayed until tomorrow due to the Veteran’s Day holiday today.

Bron: CME