US Plains HRW Wheat-Basis steady-firmer in quiet post-holiday trade

CHICAGO, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Basis bids for hard red winter (HRW) wheat were mostly steady to firmer on Friday as K.C. wheat futures hovered near two-week lows, discouraging farmer grain sales, merchandisers said.

• Grain sales and movement remained quiet following the New Year's Day holiday.

• The spot basis improved by 10 cents a bushel at an Enid, Oklahoma, elevator where farmer offerings were minimal.

• Protein premiums for railcar HRW wheat to and through Kansas City rose by 2 to 7 cents a bushel for wheat with 12.0% through 12.8% protein, typically a sign of demand from domestic flour mills. KCBT/SCA

• Bucking the firmer trend, the wheat basis at Galveston, Texas, fell by 5 cents a bushel.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture is scheduled on January 12 to release its first estimate of how much winter wheat was planted by U.S. farmers for harvest in 2026.

• K.C. HRW wheat futures eked out modest gains on Friday to halt a four-session slide, with the benchmark March contract KWH26 settling up 1/4 cent at $5.15 a bushel after dipping to $5.08-1/4, its lowest since December 18. GRA/

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