Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures were lower on Wednesday, weighed by fresh reminders of plentiful global wheat supplies, traders said. As of 10:40 am CST (1640 GMT), CBOT March wheat was down 3-3/4 cents at $2.88-1/2, hovering above its contract low of $2.87-1/2. Refco Inc and FC Stone were each early sellers of 200 to 300 March contracts, traders said.

Statistics Canada on Wednesday reported Canadian all-wheat stocks as of December 31 at 20.9 million tonnes, up 16.7 percent from the previous year, and above the average trade estimate of 20.4 million.

Also, the European Union was expected on Thursday to decide on the size of its first wheat export subsidies in 18 months, aimed at reducing a grain surplus. There was nothing in the export market overnight or early Wednesday to generate any bullish momentum for wheat futures. On the global scene, Syria set a tender to sell 100,000 tonnes of wheat.

However, large commodity funds remain heavily net short, a factor that underpinned the market. The CFTC's latest Commitments of Traders report showed large speculators were short in CBOT wheat futures by a margin of more than 2-to-1, leaving the market open to short covering.

Copyright Reuters, 2005