(Bloomberg) – Wheat fell for an eighth session in Chicago, headed for the biggest monthly drop since 2011, on speculation that crop conditions in the U.S. will improve amid prospects for rain. Corn was little changed.
Thirty percent of the U.S. winter wheat crop was in good or excellent condition as of May 25, improving from 29 percent the prior week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a weekly report. Areas of Texas, Oklahoma and central Kansas, where crops have suffered from drought, saw an inch (2.5 centimeters) of rain or more in the past week, National Weather Service data show. Conditions may be “somewhat drier” until early next week until chances for precipitation increase, forecaster DTN said.
“The U.S. markets continue to drift as an improving weather outlook keep fund longs in sell mode,” David Sheppard, a managing director at Gainsborough, England-based Gleadell Agriculture Ltd., said in an e-mailed note today. “Winter wheat crop ratings improved slightly on the week and the favorable weather saw U.S. farmers push on with spring plantings.”
Wheat for July delivery dropped 0.3 percent to $6.305 a bushel at 4:18 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. Earlier, the price touched $6.2975, matching yesterday’s intraday level that was the lowest for a most-active contract since March 4. Futures have tumbled 13 percent in May, heading for the biggest monthly drop since September 2011.
Milling wheat for November delivery in Paris fell 0.3 percent to 191 euros ($260.05) a metric ton on Euronext, set for a 6.9 percent drop in May, the biggest decline since January.
U.S. Plantings
Drought in the U.S. spurred the International Grains Council in London yesterday to cut its forecast for global wheat production to 694 million tons, from last month’s estimate of 697 million. A decreasing consumption forecast meant the outlook for global inventories at the end of the 2014-15 season was left unchanged at 187 million tons.
Corn for July delivery was little changed at $4.695 a bushel in Chicago, heading for a 9.5 percent decline this month, the biggest drop since June. Soybeans for the same delivery month fell 0.1 percent to $14.9725 a bushel, heading for the first monthly loss since January.
U.S. farmers planted 88 percent of the corn crop as of May 25, matching the five-year average pace, and soybean sowing was 59 percent complete, the USDA said May 27. Warmer, drier weather in the Midwest helped boost planting over the past week after a slow start to the season, WeatherBELL Analytics LLC said yesterday. The U.S. is the biggest corn exporter and domestic production is set to climb to a record 353.97 million tons in 2014-2015, the USDA estimates.
