MGEX March spring wheat finished down 1-1/2 cents at $5.49 a bushel. Despite Monday's price drop, CBOT wheat futures ended the year up 17.799 percent over 2017, their biggest annual rise since 2012, after a sharp fall in production in major exporters Russia, the European Union and Australia.
The USDA reported export inspections of US wheat in the latest week at 376,281 tonnes, at the low end of trade expectations for 375,000 to 625,000 tonnes. * Fundamental news was lacking on Monday, allowing brokers and commodity funds to focus on squaring positions on the last trading day of the month, quarter and year.
"Today is a holiday trade environment - meaning it is all sputters, all risk-off for the year-end. The funds are balancing right now, and selling corn and wheat, and a little soyabeans," said Don Roose, president of Iowa-based US Commodities.
For wheat futures in particular, Roose said, "Russia keeps pumping out wheat aggressively and has been subsidizing rail freights, which has acted as a damper on the US wheat market and will continue to be for now."