KANSAS CITY – The Kansas City Board of Trade on Sept. 25 set a new record volume for electronic trading in its hard red winter wheat futures contract. Electronic volume that day reached 27,454 contracts and exceeded by nearly 23% the previous daily record of 22,407 contracts set on Feb. 11, 2008.

Volume in the K.C.B.T. trading pit on Sept. 25 was 5,420 contracts. Of the total volume of 34,497 contracts that day, 79.6% was traded electronically, 15.7% was traded in the pit with the remainder comprising other recorded transactions.

"Ample world wheat supplies continue to limit rallies that have been technically fueled," said Jim Neville, K.C.B.T. chairman. "Heavy volume is attributed to intra-market wheat spreads."

Significant volume was indicated on Sept. 25 in intra-market spreads, most notably the spreads between December 2009/March 2010, December 2009/December 2010, December 2009/July 2010 and July 2010/December 2010 contracts.

The K.C.B.T. wheat futures contract on Sept. 25 traded in a range of $4.68@4.88½ a bu and closed near its lows at $4.69¼, which was down 14½c from the closing price a day before.