Wheat futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were lower at midmorning on Tuesday, pressured by improved US winter wheat crop ratings, traders said. The USDA late Monday said 58 percent of the US winter wheat crop was rated in good to excellent condition, up from 57 percent a week ago.
CBOT wheat was also losing ground to Kansas City Board of Trade wheat as inter-market spreads corrected. CBOT wheat has been trading at a premium to Kansas City wheat for the past month.
As of 10:42 am CDT (1542 GMT), July wheat was down 5-1/2 cents at $4.91 per bushel, with September down 6 at $5.03-1/2 and December down 5-/4 at $5.11. Man Financial sold 200 July wheat, traders said. At the KCBT, July wheat was down 1-1/2 cents at $4.79.
A quick pace of US spring wheat planting added to the bearish sentiment. USDA said 87 percent of the crop was seeded by Sunday, ahead of the five-year average of 74 percent. Spillover pressure from a lower open in corn added to the declines.