US Wheat Harvest Ahead of Schedule, Prices Dip on Tuesday

The wheat market is experiencing mostly lower action on Tuesday as Chicago SRW contracts trade in the red, down by 5 to 8 cents. Kansas City HRW futures are also down, ranging from 9 to 10 and a half cents in the front months. Meanwhile, Minneapolis spring wheat prices show fractionally mixed trade at midday.

The US winter wheat crop harvest is ahead of schedule, with 96% complete by Sunday, 2% faster than normal. The spring wheat crop, however, was only 41% harvested as of last weekend, but still ahead of its 5-year average pace. Spring wheat conditions have improved, increasing to 52% good to excellent from the previous week.

Notably, some states are seeing better conditions, such as Idaho with an 8% improvement and North Dakota with a 5% increase. On the other hand, Montana's spring wheat conditions have dropped by 3%, while Washington state saw a decline of 5%. The Brugler500 index has also seen a small rebound, rising 5 points to 344.

The European Commission reports that EU soft wheat exports since July 1 total around 1.48 million metric tons, lagging behind last year's pace. September CBOT Wheat is currently trading at $6.66 3/4, down by 8 cents from the previous day, while December contracts are down 5 and three-quarters of a cent.