Wheat futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were lower at midsession on Tuesday as forecasts for improving US harvest weather and a projection for a large Australian crop prompted technical selling, traders said. The market was also setting back from a run-up to 11-year highs last week based on concerns about tightening world supplies.
As of 11:10 am CDT (1610 GMT), CBOT July wheat was down 7 cents at $5.94 per bushel, but bounced off a session low of $5.87. Deferred months were down 3 to 11 cents, with September down 8-1/4 at $6.09-1/4 and December down 7-3/4 at $6.15. Early selling stemmed from screen-based trade, traders said.
The southern US Plains was expected to see a break in the rains later this week, improving prospects for the harvest of hard red winter wheat, the largest US wheat class.
"We continue to see a much more favourable forecast ... promoting warmer and drier conditions that will improve wheat maturation and accelerate the harvest," DTN Meteorlogix forecaster Mike Palmerino said.