CBOT wheat pressured by world stocks, improving US crop ratings

CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures fell to a one-week low on Tuesday, pressured by improving US crop ratings and rising global stockpiles, traders said.

CBOT May soft red winter wheat settled down 5-3/4 cents at $4.59-1/2 per bushel.

K.C. May hard red winter wheat ended down 4 cents at $4.27-1/2 a bushel and MGEX May spring wheat fell 1 cent at $5.23.

The US Department of Agriculture in a monthly report raised its forecast of global 2018/19 wheat ending stocks to 275.61 million tonnes, topping the highest in a range of trade expectations.

Also bearish, the USDA in a weekly crop progress report late Monday rated 60 percent of the US winter wheat crop in good to excellent condition, up from 56 percent a week earlier, a sign of improving yield prospects.

Analysts on average had expected no change in weekly ratings.

Egypt rejected a French wheat shipment for exceeding authorized levels of the grain fungus ergot, sources said, in an echo of problems three years ago over testing rules in the world's biggest wheat importer.

Algeria's state grains agency OAIC issued an international tender to buy milling wheat to be sourced from optional origins, European traders said. The tender sought a nominal 50,000 tonnes but Algeria often buys considerably more in its tenders than the nominal volume sought.