US Plains HRW Wheat-Basis bids remain steady, protein premiums fall

CHICAGO, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Spot basis bids for hard red winter (HRW) wheat were unchanged at elevators in the southern U.S. Plains on Tuesday amid lackluster demand, grain dealers said.

• Protein premiums fell by 25 cents a bushel for wheat with 13% to 13.2% protein and by 15 cents for wheat with 13.4% to 13.6% protein on Monday. Premiums also declined by 1.5 cents to 7 cents a bushel for wheat with lower protein levels. KCBT/SCA

• Warmer weather was promoting slow growth of HRW wheat, while dryness was expanding in the region, Commodity Weather Group said.

• K.C. March hard red winter wheat futures KWH26 were down 5-1/4 cents at $5.06-3/4 a bushel by 9:10 a.m. CST (1510 GMT) and reached the lowest level since October 22.

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