US Plains HRW Wheat-Basis bids mostly steady as futures hold near 3-1/2 week high

CHICAGO, May 22 (Reuters) - Spot basis bids for hard red winter (HRW) wheat were mostly unchanged at elevators and mills around the southern U.S. Plains on Thursday as futures prices leveled after early-week gains and farmers' sales remained slow, merchants said.

• Rising futures prices have sparked light, scattered sales by farmers earlier this week, but the overall pace of sales has been minimal, merchants said.

• Strong export demand for U.S. wheat kept a floor under prices, traders said. U.S. wheat is competitively priced in the global market as weather issues in markets like Russia, Australia and Europe are affecting production in key areas, they said.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture data issued on Thursday showed net export sales of all U.S. wheat at the highest level since December 2023 in the week ended May 15. Total HRW wheat sales of 330,041 metric tons last week were the largest for a single week since mid-February 2022, according to USDA data.

• CBOT July K.C. HRW wheat KWN25 futures last traded 1/2 cent lower at $5.40 a bushel, after hitting a 3-1/2 week high in the previous session.

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