Forecasts for improving weather in the U.S. hard red winter wheat areas helped knock wheat futures prices lower Monday, continuing the downward skid of recent sessions.
Most wheat contracts were down about 15 cents per bushel.
The recent weakness in wheat has reversed a spurt of strength early this month.
U.S. winter wheat areas are in better condition than many had expected a few weeks ago and harvest can proceed with a good field situation.
Analyst Errol Anderson of Pro Market Communications thought the Monday wheat selloff was partly due to wheat’s status as a reflector of world economic conditions. U.S. stock markets early Monday fell sharply on Greece’s debt problems and reignited fears of the Eurozone unraveling.
Read Also
China soybean imports hit record June high on strong Brazil shipments
China’s soybean imports hit the highest level ever for the month of June, a Reuters calculation of customs data showed on Monday, driven by a surge in shipments from top supplier Brazil.
“What’s bugging wheat? It’s actually the stock market,” said Anderson.
U.S. wheat is also under pressure from strong competition from low cost suppliers such as Russia.
After the markets closed, the USDA’s weekly crop condition report said that the good-to-excellent rating for winter wheat stayed the same at 43 percent, however the fair rating slipped to 35 percent from 37 and the poor to very poor rating rose to 22 percent from 20 percent the week before.
The decline was in Oklahoma and Texas.
Spring wheat conditions improved slightly to 70 percent good to excellent.
Corn futures were challenged by notions that China will work hard to reduce imports this year and on generally good weather in the Midwest.
Most other crops were slightly weaker Monday. Canola followed soybeans lower rather than soybean oil, which was a good thing because soy oil fell harder than the beans.
Canola crops on the western Prairies are still suffering from drought, even with weekend showers.
The Australian crop is dry too.
Commodity markets were mixed.
Light crude oil nearby futures in New York were down 44 cents to US$59.52 per barrel.
The Canadian dollar at noon was US81.15 cents, down from 81.27 cents the previous trading day. The U.S. dollar at noon was C$1.2323.
The Toronto Stock Exchange composite rose 14.90 points of 0.10 percent to close at 14,756.05.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 105.9 points, or 0.59 percent, to 17,792.94, the S&P 500 lost 9.52 points, or 0.45 percent, to 2,084.59 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 21.13 points, or 0.42 percent, to 5,029.97.
Winnipeg ICE Futures Canada dollars per tonne
Canola Jul 2015 482.70 -2.50 -0.52%
Canola Nov 2015 479.90 -3.30 -0.68%
Canola Jan 2016 476.90 -3.30 -0.69%
Canola Mar 2016 474.40 -2.90 -0.61%
Canola May 2016 471.40 -2.50 -0.53%
Milling Wheat Jul 2015 209.00 -6.00 -2.79%
Milling Wheat Oct 2015 214.00 -6.00 -2.73%
Milling Wheat Dec 2015 214.00 -6.00 -2.73%
Durum Wheat Jul 2015 298.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat Oct 2015 298.00 unch 0.00%
Durum Wheat Dec 2015 303.00 unch 0.00%
Barley Jul 2015 205.00 unch 0.00%
Barley Oct 2015 200.00 unch 0.00%
Barley Dec 2015 205.00 unch 0.00%
American crop prices in cents US/bushel, soybean meal in $US/short ton, soy oil in cents US/pound
Chicago
Soybeans Jul 2015 937.75 -2.25 -0.24%
Soybeans Aug 2015 920.75 -0.75 -0.08%
Soybeans Sep 2015 907.75 +0.25 +0.03%
Soybeans Nov 2015 904.25 unch 0.00%
Soybeans Jan 2016 911.25 -0.25 -0.03%
Soybeans Mar 2016 916 +0.5 +0.05%
Soybean Meal Jul 2015 313.2 -4.2 -1.32%
Soybean Meal Aug 2015 304.6 -3 -0.98%
Soybean Meal Sep 2015 299.8 -2.2 -0.73%
Soybean Oil Jul 2015 32.69 -0.45 -1.36%
Soybean Oil Aug 2015 32.74 -0.42 -1.27%
Soybean Oil Sep 2015 32.8 -0.4 -1.20%
Corn Jul 2015 348.25 -4.75 -1.35%
Corn Sep 2015 352.75 -6 -1.67%
Corn Dec 2015 363.5 -6 -1.62%
Corn Mar 2016 375 -6 -1.57%
Corn May 2016 382.25 -6 -1.55%
Oats Jul 2015 252.25 -3.25 -1.27%
Oats Sep 2015 259.5 -3 -1.14%
Oats Dec 2015 266.5 -0.75 -0.28%
Oats Mar 2016 273.75 -0.5 -0.18%
Oats May 2016 280.5 -0.5 -0.18%
Wheat Jul 2015 489.25 -14.5 -2.88%
Wheat Sep 2015 495.25 -15.25 -2.99%
Wheat Dec 2015 509.75 -15 -2.86%
Wheat Mar 2016 523.25 -14.5 -2.70%
Wheat May 2016 531.75 -14.5 -2.65%
Minneapolis
Spring Wheat Jul 2015 545.5 -15.75 -2.81%
Spring Wheat Sep 2015 554.25 -16 -2.81%
Spring Wheat Dec 2015 567 -16 -2.74%
Spring Wheat Mar 2016 580.5 -15.5 -2.60%
Spring Wheat May 2016 589.5 -15 -2.48%
Kansas City
Hard Red Wheat Jul 2015 508.75 -17.25 -3.28%
Hard Red Wheat Sep 2015 518.25 -17.5 -3.27%
Hard Red Wheat Dec 2015 535.75 -16.75 -3.03%
Hard Red Wheat Mar 2016 549.25 -16.5 -2.92%
Hard Red Wheat May 2016 558.25 -16.25 -2.83%
-30-
