Additionally, wheat futures trading tallied 26,681 contracts, making yesterday the largest-volume trading session in 2003.
The total of wheat futures and options tallied 38,055 contracts, making yesterday the most active total wheat trading day in KCBT history. The previous total wheat record was set on June 28, 2001 at 36,308 contracts.
Traders in the KCBT wheat futures and options trading pits attributed the active trading day to technical factors. The funds continued to be active buyers in a technical continuation of Friday's large rally. The highly volatile market led to heavy volume traded. The May contract traded in a 19-cent range, with the July contract trading in a 22-cent range, the September contract in a 20 1/2-cent range, the December contract in a 24-cent range and the March contract in a 15-cent range.
Also yesterday the USDA released crop production and supply and demand reports that fundamentally brought small support to the market.
The Kansas City Board of Trade, chartered in 1876, is the world's largest futures market for hard red winter wheat. Options give a buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a KCBT wheat futures contract at a specified price.