Wheat Continues to Slide on Improved Weather

In the overnight session the grains were mixed with corn up a penny, soybeans up 7 cents and wheat in Chicago down 2 1/4 cents. The June U.S dollar index is trading down slightly after trading over 100 during yesterday’s session. Crude oil is trading up 3/4 of a percent. In the overnight there were a couple tenders including a tender from the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture looking for 109,005 metric tons of food quality wheat from the United States, Canada or Australia and an Iraqi tender for 50,000 metric tons of wheat.

Yesterday the Crop progress report was released showing winter wheat conditions slipped to 42 percent rated good to excellent, down 2 percentage points from last week but still well over last year’s 34 percent good to excellent rating. However, prices continue to fall for the second straight day after the plains received much needed precipitation over the weekend. This week’s forecast shows continued precipitation in the southern half of the U.S and has eased the fears of significant crop damage as a result of dryness.

Yesterday wheat export inspections came out on the high side of expectations with 445,674 metric tons inspected for export compared to expectations of between 325,000-450,000 metric tons. Soybeans and corn both reported export inspections that fell within expectations with 450,317 metric tons and 855,766 metric tons inspected respectively.

As a reminder, tomorrow the March NOPA crush values will be released. Analysts are expecting 155.261 million bushels of soybeans to have been crushed for the month of March, the largest on record since last year’s record of 153.840 million bushels.

—Cody Bills