There were red signs on the US wheat exchanges on Tuesday. In Chicago, September SWR wheat was down 10.00 US cents at 505.00 US cents/bushel. In Kansas City, September HRW wheat lost 8.25 US cents to 510.75 US cents/bushel and December fell 7.50 US cents to 530.00 US cents/bushel. Spring wheat in Minneapolis closed only slightly weaker.
The latest WASDE report brought only minor changes for wheat, which nevertheless deserve attention. In the USA, the harvest forecast was lowered slightly to 45.5 million tons, while the export outlook rose marginally. As a result, stocks are likely to be somewhat tighter towards the end of the season.
Global production is now expected to reach 806.9 million tons. This is around 1.7 million tons less than recently expected. Declines in China, Argentina and Brazil outweigh the slightly higher harvest estimates in the EU.
In the USA, the winter wheat harvest is 90 percent complete, which is in line with the usual pace. At 16%, progress in spring wheat is slightly below the average of 22%. The condition rating was raised slightly and is now one percentage point higher at 40 percent good/excellent.
A South Korean tender for 50,000 tons of US wheat caused a stir internationally. Meanwhile, a Russian harvest estimate raised by SovEcon to 85.2 million tons is creating additional supply pressure. At 1.43 million tons, EU exports since the start of the season are well below the previous year's figure of 3.28 million tons.
The wheat price reacted cautiously on the market as a result of the news: Heavy losses in maize depressed prices. September prices on Euronext fell by €2.00 to €192.75 per tonne.
