CBOT wheat futures down

Soft red winter wheat futures at the Chicago Board of Trade closed sharply lower on Monday as rains in Australia and Europe eased worries about drought, prompting speculative selling, traders said. Renewed optimism for a large US winter wheat crop added pressure. Late last week, a survey of wheat fields in Oklahoma.
The No 2 US grower of hard red winter wheat, produced a forecast for a bumper crop of 191 million bushels. "The weather is better. The histrionics of the crop damage have calmed down," one trader said. Commodity funds were also adjusting positions for the end of the month, a factor that sent prices to the day's lows late in the session. May wheat closed down 15 cents, or 3 percent, at $4.85-1/2 per bushel, with July down 17 at $4.95-1/2 and December down 12 at $5.17.
Funds net sold 4,000 contracts for the day, unloading 2,000 to 3,000 contracts in the final minutes before the bell, floor traders said. Fimat USA was a prominent late seller. Volume was estimated by the CBOT at 70,305 wheat futures and 6,994 options.
Heavy deliveries weighed on the May contract on first notice day. Deliveries totalled 3,006 contracts, within a range of estimates for 2,000 to 4,000 lots. The Astro division of UBS issued 2,286 lots, while a customer of Man Professional Clearing stopped 1,085.
The market shrugged off news that India issued a tender to buy 1 million tonnes of wheat as it struggles with slow domestic wheat purchases. CBOT traders said the United States was not likely to get any of that business due to India's quality specifications.
Weekly export data offered little direction. The USDA on Monday said 16.7 million bushels of US wheat were inspected for export last week, within a range of trade estimates for 15 million to 20 million. The trade was also awaiting information from a tour of Kansas wheat fields later this week. The Wheat Quality Council tour begins on Tuesday, with yield and production forecast expected on Thursday.
After the markets closed, the USDA said 56 percent of the US winter wheat crop was rated in good to excellent condition, up from 54 percent the previous week. In Kansas, 39 percent of the crop was rated good/excellent, up from 34 percent the previous week.
US traders had expected ratings to stabilise following recent declines from an early April freeze. USDA said 26 percent of the US crop was headed, compared with the five-year average of 28 percent.
The CIT supplement to Friday's CFTC Commitments of Traders report showed large speculators (excluding index funds) had cut their net short position in CBOT wheat to 6,619 contracts, down about 6,000, in the week ended April 24. Index funds pared their net long to 188,146 contracts, down 694 contracts.