Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures fell for the first time in five sessions on Monday as rainy weather in the drought-hit southern US Plains was expected to raise crop prospects. Wheat was also pressured by a stronger dollar, which tends to make US grains less competitive globally. The dollar strengthened on relief over the fading risks of a China-US trade war.
CBOT July soft red winter wheat ended down 11 cents at $5.07-1/4 a bushel after earlier hitting a two-week high. K.C. hard red winter wheat and Minneapolis spring wheat markets also closed lower.
The US Department of Agriculture is due to issue its weekly crop conditions report later on Monday. Analysts polled by Reuters on average expect 37 percent of the winter wheat crop to be rated good to excellent as of Sunday, up 1 point from a week earlier. The USDA said 341,299 tonnes of US wheat were inspected for export last week, in line with trade estimates.