US wheat futures fell 1.8 percent on Thursday to their lowest since mid-April on expectations for a robust crop in the US Plains, traders said. The Wheat Quality Council estimated the Kansas hard red winter harvest would rise to 382.4 million bushels from 321.9 million a year ago despite a cutback in seedings. The forecast was made following a three-day tour of the state.
Weak export demand and active deliveries against expiring futures contracts added pressure. The US Agriculture Department reported old-crop weekly wheat export sales of 178,900 tonnes and new-crop export sales of 140,000 tonnes. The old-crop figure was in line with expectations but the new-crop exports fell below trade forecasts. Both were down from a week ago. The Chicago Board of Trade reported 286 deliveries against the May soft red winter wheat contract and 189 deliveries against May K.C. hard red winter wheat. There were 119 deliveries against MGEX May spring wheat.