The US wheat markets were clearly under pressure on Tuesday. In Chicago, SWR wheat for May fell -7.50 US cents to 589.75 US cents/bushel. In Kansas City, HRW wheat for May also fell by 9.75 US cents to close at 606.75 US cents/bushel. Spring wheat in Minneapolis also trended weaker, losing between 7 and 10 US cents in the front months.
Fundamentally, the picture remains mixed. The ongoing drought in large parts of the Plains from Nebraska to Texas and in the SRW growing regions is providing latent support. At the same time, the current lack of precipitation is putting increasing pressure on stocks. In Kansas, the proportion of winter wheat stocks in good to excellent condition deteriorated by 4 percentage points to 52%, which is generally bullish. Nevertheless, sales impulses have dominated recently.
Internationally, Europe is setting additional accents. The forecast for EU wheat production was lowered by Coceral to 142.6 million tons, down 1.3 million tons on the previous estimate. At the same time, exports are robust. At 16.77 million tons since 1 July, the EU is well above the previous year's level. This combination of a smaller harvest and stronger exports is generally supportive, but could not stop the downward pressure on the US stock markets. In Paris, May also fell by 2.00 e to 205.25 €/t as a result.
