Wheat Complex Faces Mixed Trade Amid Crop Progress Data

The wheat complex experienced mixed trade on Tuesday, with some contracts showing weakness. Chicago SRW contracts were mixed, with front months seeing fractionally higher prices and deferreds steady to lower. Meanwhile, KC HRW futures dropped by 2 3/4 to 7 ¾ cents, while MPLS spring wheat was lower by 1 to 4 ¾ cents.

The latest Weekly NASS Crop Progress data showed that 81% of the US winter wheat crop had been harvested by Sunday, which is 2% ahead of normal. In contrast, the spring wheat crop was 92% headed but 1% behind its five-year average pace, with 2% already harvested.

Spring wheat conditions were steady at 53% good to excellent, while the Brugler500 index dipped another 3 points lower to 342. Improvement was noted in Montana (+36), Washington (+6), and Idaho (no change). However, deterioration was seen in Minnesota (-3), North Dakota (-17), and South Dakota (-33).

SovEcon estimates the Russian wheat export total at 44.6 MMT, a 1.9 MMT drop from its previous number. EU soft wheat exports for most of July were seen at 0.57 MMT, down 0.89 MMT from the same period last year.