Wheat futures at the Chicago Board of Trade fell to two-week lows on Thursday, following weather-driven declines in corn and soybean futures, traders said. Seasonal harvest pressure also weighed on wheat prices. July wheat closed down 7 cents at $3.21-1/2 per bushel, with deferred months down 7 to 7-1/4 cents.
Most-active September closed at $3.31-1/2, falling below its 50-day moving average at $3.32-1/2.
Funds sold 7,000 to 8,000 contracts, traders said.
Volume was estimated by the exchange at 46,369 futures and 6,291 options.
End-of-the-month positioning added to volatility in wheat and other pits late in the session. Sharp declines in CBOT soybeans set the tone.
Some rain fell across parched crop areas of the US Midwest overnight, including Illinois, easing concerns about crop stress. Some forecasters added moisture to their Midwest outlooks at midday, sending the grain markets lower.
Mostly dry weather in the central US Plains through this weekend will help advance the hard red winter wheat harvest, and the resulting hedge sales should pressure Chicago wheat futures, traders said.
The soft red winter wheat harvest was progressing in the Midwest as well.
Heavy deliveries on the July wheat contract of 1,470 lots added weight to July. A customer of ABN-Amro issued 1,412 and customers of Calyon Financial and Tenco Inc stopped 400 and 460, respectively.
Wheat stocks and acreage data released Thursday morning by the US Department of Agriculture were considered market neutral.
USDA reported June 1 wheat stocks at 539.8 million bushels, above the average analyst estimate of 532 million bushels but down from 546 million a year ago.
Spring wheat plantings were pegged at 14.099 million acres, below the average trade estimate of 14.175 million and USDA's March 31 figure of 14.371 million.
The agency put US all-wheat plantings at 58.080 million acres, below the average analyst estimate for 58.392 million and USDA's March estimate of 58.592 million.
Bullish export news had little impact on wheat futures.
Egypt overnight bought 120,000 tonnes of Australian wheat and 60,000 tonnes of US soft red wheat for shipment July 24-31, and Japan bought 80,000 tonnes of wheat at its weekly tender, including 60,000 tonnes from the United States.
USDA reported weekly export sales of US wheat at 587,500 tonnes, above the range of trade expectations for 350,000 to 500,000 tonnes.
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