CBOT wheat futures fall to 6-1/2-month lows

Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade fell to 6-1/2-month lows Monday on strong global export competition, improving crop conditions in the Northern Hemisphere and technical selling, traders said. Technical selling accelerated as spot CBOT wheat dropped below its March low of $4.81 a bushel, on the way to $4.69-1/2, the lowest spot price since October 1. CBOT soft wheat, K.C. hard red winter and MGEX spring wheat all set across-the-board contract lows, and spot K.C. wheat fell to its lowest since July 2010.
Beneficial rains fell in the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles on Monday, recharging soil moisture at a key time for the developing winter wheat crop. Ahead of USDA's weekly crop progress report due later on Monday, analysts expect the government to rate 43 percent of the US winter wheat crop as good to excellent, up from 42 percent the previous week. Analysts expect USDA to report US spring wheat planting progress at 53 percent, up from 36 percent a week earlier.