Wheat is kicking off the Friday session with contracts down 2 to 4 cents across the main markets. The wheat market took back the losses from Wednesday with gains across the three markets on Thursday. CBT soft red wheat futures posted gains of 5 ¼ to 7 ½ cents across the board on Thursday. KC HRW futures were back up 3 ¾ to 5 ½ cents on the session. Open interest was up 2,272 contracts on Thursday. MPLS spring wheat futures saw higher action on Thursday, up 4 to 5 ¼ cents at the close. The weekly USDA Expo ...

Group 1 - The national summer grain purchase has commenced, with over 17 million tons of wheat purchased, surpassing the same period last year [1] - In Henan province, a flour processing factory has an annual processing capacity of 250,000 tons of wheat, with high operational rates for newly developed high-end products [3] - Henan has initiated a minimum purchase price policy for wheat, providing strong support for the domestic wheat market due to increased flour processing rates and rising feed consumption [5] Group 2 - Orders for flour are expected to increase by 20% compared to the same period in 2024, indicating a growing demand for wheat [6] - In Dezhou, Shandong province, a flour processing enterprise is purchasing wheat at double its usual rate, with current prices at 1.24 yuan per jin, higher than nearby collection points [6] - The operating rate of small and medium-sized flour processing plants nationwide is at a three-year high, with expectations for continued strong demand for flour and high-end flour products [7]