Protein premiums for railcar HRW wheat to and through Kansas City rose by 8 cents a bushel on Friday for wheat with 13.4% protein and by 4 cents for wheat with 13.6% protein. Premiums for other grades were unchanged. KCBT/SCA
Some grain handlers have rolled their basis bids to the K.C. December futures contract as the September contract approaches its expiration.
Wheat futures hit life-of-contract highs
All K.C. 0#KW: and CBOT 0#W: wheat futures set life-of-contract highs on Friday for a third straight day, driven up by war-related disruptions to Black Sea grain exports and speculative buying, traders said. GRA/
K.C. September HRW wheat futures KWU26 settled up 24-1/4 cents, or 3.1%, at $8.27-3/4 a bushel, and December futures KWZ26 ended up 22-1/4 cents, or 2.8%, at $8.44-1/4 a bushel.
The K.C. December futures contract KWZ26 has risen about $1.20 a bushel, or 16.6%, so far this month.
Farmers book forward sales as futures rally
CHICAGO, Aug. 28 (Reuters) - Basis bids for hard red winter (HRW) wheat were steady to stronger in the southern U.S. Plains on Friday as surging K.C. wheat futures spurred farmers to book forward sales of new-crop wheat, while sales of remaining old-crop wheat, harvested this year, remained thin, merchandisers said.
The spot-market basis for wheat improved by 10 cents a bushel at Catoosa, Oklahoma, amid a lack of grain movement.
Elsewhere in Oklahoma, a dealer reported buying "quite a bit" of new-crop wheat for harvest in 2027. Farmers will begin planting that crop in coming weeks but some were already selling part of their expected 2027 harvest, seizing on multi-year highs in the futures market, the dealer said.
Weather remains a concern in the southern Plains
Stressful hot and dry weather remained a concern in the southern Plains ahead of winter wheat planting. "Pastures and many crops continue to struggle amid the Plains’ late-summer heat and limited soil moisture reserves," the USDA said in a daily weather note.
Basis values are quoted against futures in cts/bu:
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