US wheat futures slid to a four-month low on Tuesday as the country's advancing harvest increased supplies, while soyabean futures dropped on better-than-expected US crop conditions. The US Department of Agriculture, in a weekly crop report on Monday, said the winter wheat harvest was 33 percent complete, topping analyst estimates for 28 percent and the five-year average of 31 percent.
Weather conditions are expected to improve after recent rains slowed the harvest. "Upcoming rains won't be heavy or prolonged," said Rich Feltes, vice president of research for brokerage RJ O'Brien. Front-month wheat futures dropped 1.4 percent, or 8-1/4 cents, to $5.71-1/2 a bushel by 9:45 am CDT (1445 GMT) at the Chicago Board of Trade. The contract earlier hit $5.71, the lowest since February 10.
Front-month soyabean futures dropped 1.1 percent, or 16 cents, to $14.08-3/4 a bushel. Spot corn futures slid 0.8 percent, or 3-1/2 cents, to $4.41 a bushel. The USDA, in Monday's report, rated 72 percent of the soya crop as good to excellent, down a percentage point from the prior week due to heavy rains but higher than most analysts had expected.
The corn crop was rated 74 percent good to excellent, down 2 percentage points from the week before, but still above the five-year average of about 68 percent for late June. Crop ratings are expected to be steady or improve next week due to favourable weather. "The market knows there is a lot of corn coming and that will set a lower tone for prices as we head toward harvest," said Kayla Burkhart, broker for SunPrairie Grain in North Dakota.
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