CBOT wheat futures barely positive

Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures settled just barely in positive territory, after waffling between gains and negative territory for much of Tuesday as traders weighed US wheat conditions and spring crop planting, traders said.

CBOT July soft red winter wheat settled up 1-1/4 cents at $5.20-3/4 per bushel.

Kansas City July hard red winter (HRW) wheat slipped 3 cents to $4.84 per bushel, while MGEX July spring wheat finished up 2 cents at $5.10-1/4.

A group of Oklahoma crop experts on Tuesday projected Oklahoma's 2020 winter wheat harvest down, at 96.524 million bushels, with an average yield of 33.16 bushels per acre, following an annual tour of the state.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) rated 55% of the winter wheat crop in good to excellent condition as of Sunday, an improvement from 54% the previous week. Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average had expected a decline to 53%, while their estimates had ranged from 52% to 55% good to excellent.

The USDA also rated 14% of the winter wheat crop as poor or very poor, up from 8% last year.

For spring wheat, the USDA said the crop was 29% planted, lagging the five-year average of 43% and below the average of analyst expectations at 30%.

Ukraine, one of the world's leading wheat exporters, will agree on an export cap with traders for the 2020/21 season in July, Economy Minister Ihor Petrashko said on Tuesday, aiming for a balance between food security and foreign currency earnings.

Romania's wheat crop has been affected by prolonged drought, and an estimate of the overall damage could be available as early as next week, Agriculture Minister Adrian Oros said on Tuesday.

French soft wheat shipments outside the EU last month reached a four-year high for April, Refinitiv data showed, as exporters continued to ship high volumes during the coronavirus pandemic.

Argentine farmers are expected to harvest a record 21 million tonnes of wheat in the 2020/21 season versus 18.8 million tonnes in the previous crop year, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Tuesday.

Concerns about underlying dryness in parts of the US Southern plains may also be supporting the market somewhat, traders said.