US Plains HRW Wheat-Basis bids flat in slow cash trade

CHICAGO, March 6 (Reuters) - Spot basis bids for hard red winter wheat were unchanged in the U.S. Plains on Thursday as farmers did little selling despite a bounce in K.C. hard red winter wheat futures.

Some farmers may be waiting for prices to recover further before selling their old and new crop wheat, dealers said.

Many farmers are also waiting until they have a better understanding of their yield prospects before booking sales for new-crop wheat.

Roughly 24% of the U.S. winter wheat crop is affected by drought, up from 22% the previous week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Drought Monitor reported.

Rains over the U.S. Plains this weekend will likely skip over some parched wheat-growing regions, an analyst note said.

Protein premiums for HRW wheat shipped by rail to or through Kansas City were unchanged for all protein grades.

K.C. May hard red winter wheat futures KWK25 settled up 8-3/4 cents to $5.65-3/4 per 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 = Sp Option price; NC = No comparison

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

= Ordinary protein, rail bids

LINKS:

K.C. HRW wheat protein scales KCBT/SCA

U.S. weekly wheat crop progress US/WHE

U.S. forward basis WHEAT/BASIS

U.S. Midwest cash grain PM GRA/PM

U.S. FOB Gulf Grain GRA/F