Wheat markets closed sharply higher across all three major exchanges on Friday, with double-digit gains driving the strongest weekly performance in recent sessions.
Chicago SRW contracts finished 15 1/4 to 20 3/4 cents higher on the day, with the nearby September contract posting a gain of 40 1/2 cents for the week.
KC HRW futures advanced 17 3/4 to 22 cents at the close, with September rallying 37 3/4 cents over the course of the week’s trading.
Minneapolis spring wheat added 11 1/2 to 14 1/4 cents on the session, with September finishing 33 3/4 cents above last week’s close.
A key catalyst behind Friday’s rally was news that Russia has restricted export flows through the Don-Azov channel, a route that accounts for nearly a quarter of the country’s wheat shipments.
USDA’s Crop Production update trimmed all wheat production by just 7 million bushels to 1.536 billion bushels, while all winter wheat came in below estimates at 990 million bushels, a 40 million bushel drop from last month.
The accompanying WASDE report showed US carryout falling 22 million bushels to 722 million bushels, with carryover from 2025/26 reduced by 15 million bushels contributing to the tighter balance sheet.
On the global front, world wheat stocks fell 2.78 million metric tons to 272.84 MMT, with Argentina down 0.5 MMT, Canada dropping 0.42 MMT, and the EU contributing a 0.3 MMT decline.
Coceral trimmed their EU and UK wheat output forecast by 2.9 MMT to 140.8 MMT, while FranceAgriMer reported French wheat crop ratings fell another 3 percentage points to 65% good-to-excellent with harvest 29% complete.
Weekly Commitment of Traders data showed managed money in CBT wheat futures and options reducing their net short by 6,705 contracts in the week ending July 7, bringing it to 62,325 contracts, while KC wheat saw managed money add 4,845 contracts to their net long, now standing at 11,764 contracts.
September 2026 CBOT Wheat closed at $6.40 1/4, up 20 1/2 cents, while December 2026 CBOT Wheat settled at $6.54 1/2, also up 20 1/2 cents on the session.
September 2026 KCBT Wheat closed at $6.76 1/4, up 22 cents, with December 2026 KCBT Wheat finishing at $6.90 1/4, also gaining 22 cents on the day.
