US wheat futures close mixed after spending most of session in negative territory

CHICAGO: US wheat futures closed mixed on Tuesday, with K.C. hard red winter wheat dropping to a three-week low while Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat edged higher.

MGEX spring wheat was sharply lower, with the front-month contract falling 2.3 percent to hit its lowest since July 20, 2018.

K.C. hard red winter wheat futures were pressured all day by a better-than-expected crop conditions report released by the US government on Monday afternoon.

CBOT soft red winter wheat contracts traded in negative territory for much of the session but ended slightly higher on a late round of short-covering.

The most actively traded contract, CBOT May soft red winter wheat, found support after falling below its 20-day moving average. The contract closed above its 30-day moving average.

The US Agriculture Department's first crop conditions report of the year rated the winter wheat crop 56 percent good to excellent, up from 32 percent a year earlier. Analysts expected ratings of 55 percent good to excellent.