December Wheat finished up 1 at 645 1/2, 7 1/2 off the high and 6 1/2 up from the low. March Wheat closed up 1/2 at 684 1/2. This was 6 up from the low and 7 1/2 off the high. March wheat posted a modest gain today, trading in a narrow range with both the Thursday and Friday ranges in the process. Traders said that a mixture of limited buying by funds and moderately active trade by spreaders versus corn and KC wheat were some of the dominant factors in the market today. Weather forecasts remain dry for the hard red winter wheat belt with areas of the western Plains already at extreme levels of dryness with deteriorating crop conditions. This is expected to be reflected on this afternoon’s Crop Progress report from the USDA. Last week’s overall rating for the winter wheat crop was 46% good-to-excellent, just 4% above the major low seen at 42% in 1991. The USDA will issue two more Crop Progress reports, including today’s report, before waiting for the winter wheat crop to emerge from winter dormancy next spring. The USDA announced a sale of 120,000 tonnes of soft white wheat to Egypt this morning for delivery during the 2010/11 marketing year. In recent weeks, Egypt has favored hard wheat and soft white wheat from the US over their more traditional purchases of soft wheat. This week’s export inspections for wheat were 13.785 million bushels, down from 16.273 million last week. Inspections need to average 26.148 million each week to reach the USDA’s current export projection. Cumulative inspections to-date stand at 41.7% of the USDA’s projection versus a 5-year average of 50.5%. March Oats closed down 2 1/4 at 363 3/4. This was 2 1/4 up from the low and 7 3/4 off the high.

Bron: CME