Bids flat; sales slow as cash prices below targets

Spot basis bids for hard red winter wheat held steady at grain terminals across the southern U.S. Plains on Thursday, dealers said.

* Farmer sales were slow, with cash prices below growers' targets, an Oklahoma dealer said.

* The U.S. Agriculture Department on Thursday morning said that weekly export sales of hard red winter wheat totaled 18,100 tonnes. That was up from 13,200 tonnes the prior week.

* Protein premiums for wheat delivered by rail to or through Kansas City were unchanged for all grades of wheat, according to the latest CME Group data.

* At 9:56 a.m. CDT (1556 GMT), K.C. December hard red winter wheat futures (KWZ2) were down 4-1/4 cents at $9.71-3/4 a bushel.

Basis values are quoted against futures in cts/bu:

NOTES: H = March, K = May, N = July, U = September,

Z = December; UNQ = Unquoted bids

0 = Option price NC = No comparison

* = No. 1 12% hard winter wheat, rail bids

** = Ordinary protein, rail bids

LINKS:

* K.C. HRW wheat protein scales

* U.S. weekly wheat crop progress

* U.S. forward basis (WHEAT/BASIS)

* U.S. Midwest cash grain PM

* U.S. CIF/FOB Gulf Grain