US wheat ends mixed

US wheat futures closed mixed on Wednesday, paring early losses as spillover strength from a rally in soyabeans and crude oil offset pressure from improved US winter wheat ratings and harvest pressure, traders said. Outlooks for much-needed rain in eastern Australia contributed to the overall weak tone in wheat.
At the Chicago Board of Trade, July soft red winter wheat settled unchanged at $7.59 per bushel, after dropping as low as $7.43. Back months settled 3 cents higher to 2 cents lower. Funds were roughly even in CBOT wheat, traders said. At the Kansas City Board of Trade, July hard red winter wheat settled 1-1/2 cents lower at $8.03-1/2 per bushel, with back months down 3 cents to up 7.
At the Minneapolis Grain Exchange, July spring wheat ended up 5 cents at $10.50 per bushel, with back months up 5 cents to down 5 cents. New-crop September ended up 2 cents at $8.65. Deliverable stocks of spring wheat in Duluth/Superior fell to 10.551 million bushels as of May 23, down from 10.605 last week and 14.656 a year ago. Tight supplies of old-crop wheat have been supporting spot MGE July futures over back months; the inverted July/September spread last traded at $1.90, premium July.
Eastern Australia likely to receive above-average rain in the winter months starting June 1, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology said. The region's wheat growers need rain before the planting window closes at the end of June.
An improvement in US winter wheat ratings lent pressure. USDA late Tuesday said 47 percent of the US winter wheat crop was rated in good to excellent condition, up from 45 percent a week earlier. The crop's maturity remained behind normal, with 64 percent headed as of Sunday, compared to the five-year average of 76 percent.
In its first spring wheat ratings of the season, USDA said 52 percent of the spring wheat crop was rated good to excellent, compared to 79 percent a year ago. The crop was 76 percent emerged, near the five-year average of 78 percent. Russia sees no reason in extending prohibitive grain export tariffs after July 1. Jordan bought 50,000 tonnes of Ukrainian hard wheat in a tender for 100,000 tonnes.Japan to seek 66,000 tonnes of wheat from the United States and Canada at its weekly tender.