Wheat falls off three-month high as dollar muscles up

Wheat futures fell nearly two percent in American trade off September 4 highs for the fifth session out of seven, while heading for the first weekly loss in four, as the dollar index rebounded from November 20 lows, following earlier data from the US, the world's largest wheat producer and exporter. 

As of 08:02 GMT, wheat futures due in March fell 1.63% to $5.135 away from three-month highs, while the dollar index surged 0.63% to 96.99. 

USDA Sales, Inspection Data 

The US Department of Agriculture reported wheat sales of 313.6 thousand tonnes in the week ending December 13, down 58% from the previous week, and 42% from four-week averages. 

Japan came at the top with 71.3 thousand tonnes, followed by Ecuador at 53 thousand, then Taiwan and Italy at 52.4 thousand and 47.9 thousand respectively. 

The USDA also reported inspections of 682.2 thousand tonnes of wheat product destined for export in the week ending December 13, up from 449.0 thousand in the previous week, and 625.1 thousand in the same period of 2017, with total inspected product for this marketing year amounting to 11.7 million tonnes, below the same period of last year at 13.8 billion.

Earlier this month, the USDA released its report on global agricultural demand and supply, at which it cut forecasts for wheat output to 733.41 million tonnes, or by 100 thousand tonnes.

Inventories are estimated to reach 266.71 million tonnes by the end of this agricultural year, slightly down from 268.10 million tonnes in previous forecasts. 

US Data 

Earlier US data showed the GDP grew by 3.4% in the third quarter of 2018, missing estimates of 3.5%, and compared to 4.2% in the second quarter. 

US durable goods orders rose 0.8% in November, missing estimates of a 1.6% increase, and compared to October's 4.3% drop. 

Core orders, excluding transportation, fell 0.3%, missing estimates of a 0.3% increase, and compared to October's 0.2% addition. 

US personal income rose 0.2% in November, slowing down from 0.5% in October, while missing estimates of a 0.3% increase, as personal spending rose 0.4%, slowing down from 0.4%. 

Finally, University of Michigan released its final reading for the consumer sentiment survey, showing an increase to 98.3 from the preliminary reading of 97.5, beating estimates of 97.6.