US Plains HRW Wheat-Spot basis bids hold steady as futures rally

CHICAGO, March 17 (Reuters) - Spot basis bids for hard red winter wheat held mostly steady in the U.S. Plains on Monday as futures rallied and as farmers worried about dry conditions in southern areas of the wheat belt, dealers said.

Many growers are waiting to get a clearer picture of their yield prospects before booking any further sales, dealers said.

Moisture stress is building across the southern U.S. Plains wheat belt, with high winds eroding soils and adding stress to the crop, meteorologists Commodity Weather Group said on Monday.

Drought in major wheat areas has expanded in recent weeks. A third of the winter wheat crop in Kansas, the top producing state, and almost two-thirds of Oklahoma's crop is under moderate drought or worse, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor data.

K.C. May hard red winter wheat futures KWK25 touched the highest point since February 26 on Monday and were up 18 cents near the close at $6.04 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