Wheat drops as crop weather improves; soybeans firm

HAMBURG: Chicago wheat fell again on Tuesday, hitting a one-week low as an improvement in crop prospects in major exporting regions and concern US wheat exports are looking too expensive weighed on prices.

Soybeans rose in bargain hunting following Monday's sharp fall.

The Chicago Board of Trade most-active wheat contract was down 0.2 percent at $5.10 a bushel at 1141 GMT, after earlier hitting its lowest since May 1 at $5.06-3/4 a bushel.

Soybeans rose 0.5 percent to $10.17-1/4 a bushel, having fallen 2.4 percent on Monday. Corn edged up 0.1 percent to $4.01-1/2 a bushel, receiving some spillover support from soybeans.

"Wheat is seeing weakness from forecasts of more rain in Australia and the Black Sea and better weather in the US Plains after the serious concerns about dryness there which drove prices up last week," said Matt Ammermann, commodity risk manager with INTL FCStone.

"Chicago wheat seems to have risen too fast and too high last week and after comparing global prices, US wheat looks too expensive."

Concern about drought in the US Plains and elsewhere lifted wheat to nine-month highs last week.

But improved weather forecasts have become a catalyst for selling pressure, said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

"The last few projections have some wetter weather in very dry hard red winter wheat regions of the US," Gorey said.

Better news about US harvest prospects came after the Chicago close on Monday, when the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) rated 34 percent of the US winter wheat crop in good-to-excellent condition, up from 33 percent last week.

Russia is on track for a record wheat crop, while Ukraine is expecting a bumper harvest in the months ahead.

"Monday's fall in soybean prices seems to have been a bit overdone in view of the continued concern about the reduced Argentine soybean crop this year," Ammermann said.

"The soybean market is now moving to assess fair value as we move into the US planting season. Soybean planting in some of the US northern states has made a slow start and there will be greater focus on US soybean planting progress in coming weeks."

The USDA said on Monday the US corn crop was 39 percent planted, up from 17 percent last week.

"US corn plantings speeded up last week," Ammermann said. "US corn plantings are still behind the usual rate but are catching up."