Chicago | Reuters—U.S. wheat futures sank to contract lows on Monday on expectations that more rain will hit dry growing areas of the Plains after beneficial showers over the weekend, analysts said.
Corn futures also eased while nearby soybean contracts rose.
Rain is projected to aid wheat crops in the Plains over the next 10 days, Commodity Weather Group said, adding that some parts of Texas and Oklahoma may receive six to eight inches.
The showers should benefit yields for the region’s hard red winter wheat, which is used to make bread, said Rich Nelson, chief strategist for Allendale.
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“We have the very heavy rains lined up directly ahead,” he said.
Most actively traded wheat futures at the Chicago Board of Trade dropped 14 cents to end at $5.31 per bushel. The contract set a low of $5.27-1/4 earlier in the session.
Most-active K.C. July hard red winter wheat futures KWN25closed down 11-1/4 cents at $5.39-3/4 per bushel after reaching a contract low of $5.34-1/2.
“For HRW right now, rain makes grain,” CHS Hedging said in a note.
After trading ended, the U.S. Department of Agriculture rated 49 per cent on the nation’s winter wheat crop as being in good or excellent condition. That was up from 45 per cent a week ago and above analysts’ expectations for 47 per cent.
The USDA said that 24 per cent of the nation’s corn crop and 18 per cent of soybeans were planted as of Sunday. Analysts had estimated 25 per cent of corn and 17 per cent of soybeans were planted, according to a Reuters poll.
Most-active CBOT soybeans Sv1 closed up 3-1/4 cents at $10.62-1/2 per bushel. Corn Cv1 slipped 2-1/4 cents to $4.83-1/4 per bushel.
Traders were assessing disruptions to American agricultural exports from U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war with China, the world’s biggest soybean importer.
News last week that China exempted some U.S. goods from its tariffs sparked hopes for a de-escalation. However, U.S. soybean and grain exports to China look like they will be stopped by Chinese tariffs for the foreseeable future, traders said.
—Additional reporting by Michael Hogan in Hamburg and Naveen Thukral in Singapore
