US wheat fell as much as 2 percent on Thursday, heading for its second straight monthly decline on pressure from improving crop conditions in the southern Plains and disappointing weekly export sales. Corn and soyabeans also were lower at the Chicago Board of Trade, weighed down by favorable weather for US plantings and offsetting support from a weaker dollar that could improve export prospects.
The US Department of Agriculture earlier said weekly exports of all wheat varieties were a net cancellation of 449,167 tonnes for the current marketing season, the largest such cancellation in USDA records going back to 1990. Cheaper supplies shipped out of Europe, Ukraine and Russia continued to dominate international markets while buyers of US wheat also switched some of their canceled purchases to the next marketing season that begins on June 1.
Deliveries against May wheat contracts, an indication of weak cash markets, also were bearish for futures. Front-month CBOT May wheat was down 11-3/4 cents at $4.65-1/2 per bushel as of 11:37 a.m. CDT (1737 GMT), an outside day on the charts with wheat on a continuous chart holding just above its nearly five-year low reached on Tuesday. CBOT May corn was down 3-1/4 cents at $3.60-1/2 per bushel and CBOT May soyabeans off 10-1/2 cents to $9.78. Bear spreading was noted in corn and soyabeans, with expectations that farmers will rapidly plant seeds of each crop pressuring new-crop contracts.
On the last day of April, wheat and corn each were headed for their second consecutive monthly decline while soyabeans were on pace for a narrow monthly gain. The commodities eased even as the dollar touched a fresh nine-week low, a factor that helped buoy grain prices in the previous session.