Wheat Bulls Add Premium Heading into the Weekend

Wheat Market Overview - The wheat complex experienced a rally across three exchanges, primarily driven by winter wheat contracts, with Chicago SRW futures closing up 12 to 14 cents and March futures increasing by 11.5 cents this week [1] - KC HRW futures rose by 14 to 15 cents, with March futures up 13.5 cents for the week, while MPLS spring wheat lagged behind, gaining 1 to 2 cents but still achieving a 10-cent increase this week [1] - Freezing temperatures and minimal snow cover in parts of HRW regions may be contributing to price premiums ahead of the weekend [1] Export Sales Data - USDA Export Sales data indicated that 618,076 MT of wheat were sold in the week ending January 15, marking a 9-week high and more than tripling the sales from the same week last year [2] - The largest buyer was listed as unknown destinations, purchasing 130,600 MT, followed by Mexico with 115,900 MT and South Korea with 95,500 MT [2] Commitment of Traders Data - CFTC's Commitment of Traders data revealed that managed money added 4,471 contracts to their net short position as of January 20, bringing the net short position for CBT wheat to 110,700 contracts [3] - In KC wheat, speculators were net short by 13,018 contracts, with a slight increase of 237 contracts for the week [3] Closing Prices - Closing prices for various wheat futures on the date of publication included: - Mar 26 CBOT Wheat at $5.29 1/2, up 14 cents - May 26 CBOT Wheat at $5.39, up 12.5 cents - Mar 26 KCBT Wheat at $5.40 3/4, up 15 cents - May 26 KCBT Wheat at $5.50 1/2, up 14.5 cents - Mar 26 MIAX Wheat at $5.75, up 1.25 cents - May 26 MIAX Wheat at $5.87 3/4, up 1.5 cents [3]