Wheat rises on worsening US crop ratings, though ample supply limits gains

CANBERRA: Chicago wheat futures rose on Tuesday as dry and cold conditions in the US Plains pushed down crop condition ratings, but ample global supply capped gains. Corn futures dipped and soybeans rose slightly. The most-traded wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Wv1 was up 0. 3% at $6. 07-1/2 a bushel at 0308 GMT. Prices rallied 5% last week and are up 20% so far this year, but lost momentum after reaching a two-week high of $6. 16-3/4 last Thursday, with traders saying US wheat is becoming uncompetitive on global export markets. “Price rises have been driven by the drier US conditions, ” said Josh Lawrence, advisory consultant at IKON Commodities. “But we’re not seeing the same sort of concerns elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere, ” he said. “We don’t think the US production concerns will be enough in isolation to push the global grains markets higher. ” The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Monday rated 30% of the nation’s winter wheat in good-to-excellent condition, down from 34% the previous week and below a range of analyst estimates, as dry conditions and a cold snap over the weekend stressed crops. In Kansas, the top producing state, the USDA rated 24% of the crop as good to excellent as of Sunday, down from 32% a week before. Some rain is forecast in the driest areas in the coming days. Elsewhere, India approved an additional 2. 5 million metric tons of wheat exports, taking the total export quota to 5 million tons, though a trader said actual exports might fall well short of that level. The USDA also said that US farmers had planted 12% of the spring wheat crop, 12% of this year’s soybeans and 11% of its corn by Sunday. CBOT corn fell 0. 3% to $4. 59 a bushel, while soybeans rose 0. 2% to $11. 84-1/4 a bushel. Both crops are, like wheat, well supplied worldwide. China, the biggest soybean importer, is expected to import 6. 1% fewer beans in 2026 than last year, according to an agriculture ministry-backed outlook.

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