The wheat futures in Chicago were the weakest link in the agrarian complex yesterday, slipping sharply after five trading days of gains. Prospects of rainfall in the southern US plains and the strong US dollar weighed on the market. The weekly US export inspection, with 341,299 tons of wheat, was within market expectations of 300,000 - 600,000 tons. The USDA released the Weekly Crop Progress Report after close of trading. 36% of US winter wheat stocks received the top rating "good to excellent". Analysts expected a share of 37% (previous week: 36%, previous year: 52%). Institutional investors yesterday sold 8,500 lots of CBoT SRW wheat. At the moment, the eCBoT is trading with minimal markups. The wheat futures at Euronext in Paris managed to hold up well despite the negative overseas guidance and closed unevenly. The weak euro exchange rate provided support. However, better weather conditions in Russia limited the positive effect. Russia's wheat export prices fell last week as rains have improved conditions for the upcoming new harvest. The new crop's 12.5% protein Black Sea export wheat prices were $ 199 / ton fob on Friday.That was 3 USD / ton less than in the previous week.
