Wheat Pushing Higher as Exports Tick Up

Market Overview - The wheat complex is experiencing gains across most contracts, with Chicago SRW futures up by 4 to 5 cents, KC HRW futures up by 5 to 6 cents, and MPLS spring wheat up by 1 to 2 cents [1] Export Data - Export Inspections data indicates that wheat shipments reached 627,443 MT (23.05 million bushels) for the week ending December 18, marking an increase of 28.2% from the previous week and a 46.79% increase from the same week last year [2] - Mexico was the leading destination for wheat, importing 98,816 MT, followed by Japan (73,777 MT), Thailand (69,201 MT), and China (68,559 MT) [2] - Cumulative marketing year shipments have totaled 14.75 MMT (542.1 million bushels), reflecting a year-over-year increase of 22.89% [2] Sales Data - Export Sales data reported 381,532 MT of wheat sold for the week ending December 4, which was below analysts' expectations of 300,000-600,000 MT but still represented a 31.46% increase compared to the same week last year [3] Speculative Trading - A CFTC update revealed that spec traders in CBT wheat futures and options increased their net short position by 2,228 contracts to a total of 46,069 contracts as of December 19 [4] - In KC wheat, managed money reduced their net short position by 900 contracts, bringing it down to 17,011 contracts [4] Price Movements - Current prices for various wheat contracts include: - Mar 26 CBOT Wheat at $5.14, up 4 1/4 cents - May 26 CBOT Wheat at $5.25 1/4, up 4 3/4 cents - Mar 26 KCBT Wheat at $5.20 3/4, up 5 1/2 cents - May 26 KCBT Wheat at $5.33 1/2, up 5 3/4 cents - Mar 26 MGEX Wheat at $5.79 1/2, up 1 1/2 cents - May 26 MGEX Wheat at $5.90 1/4, up 1 3/4 cents [4]