Wheat Market Declines Amid Weak Export Inspections and Crop Progress

The wheat market encountered a downturn across all three major exchanges on Monday. Chicago SRW futures dropped by 11 to 13 cents, while Kansas City HRW futures faced similar pressure, declining 8 to 9 cents. In contrast, Minneapolis spring wheat futures remained relatively stable, recording a slight decline of up to 2 cents.

Export Inspections and Shipment Data

Weekly Export Inspections data reported wheat shipments at 310,326 metric tons (11.4 million bushels) for the week ending May 1. This figure marks a significant decline of 42.2% from the prior week and a drop of 8.48% compared to the same week last year. Mexico emerged as the largest destination, receiving 117,775 metric tons, followed closely by the Philippines with 105,015 metric tons. Cumulatively, marketing year shipments now total 19.772 million metric tons (726.5 million bushels), reflecting a 14.41% increase from the same week last year.

Crop Progress Update

The weekly Crop Progress update indicated that spring wheat planting reached 44% by Sunday, surpassing the average pace of 34%. Emergence was reported at 13%, which is 4 percentage points ahead of the normal rate. Additionally, the condition of winter wheat improved, with 51% rated as good or excellent, reflecting a 2% increase from last year. The Brugler500 index remained steady amidst these ratings at 334.

International Purchases and Russian Crop Estimates

Taiwanese mills purchased a total of 68,650 metric tons of wheat from the U.S. overnight. Meanwhile, IKAR has estimated that the Russian wheat crop will reach 83.8 million metric tons, an upward revision of 1.3 million metric tons from their previous estimation.

Wheat Futures Close on Monday

Closing prices on May 25 for various wheat futures were as follows:

• CBOT May 25 Wheat: $5.14 1/4, down 12 1/4 cents
• CBOT July 25 Wheat: $5.31 1/4, down 11 3/4 cents
• KCBT May 25 Wheat: $5.20, down 8 1/2 cents
• KCBT July 25 Wheat: $5.32 3/4, down 8 1/2 cents
• MGEX May 25 Wheat: $6.16 1/2, unchanged
• MGEX July 25 Wheat: $6.09 1/2, down 1 1/2 cents

On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not hold any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data are for informational purposes only. For further details, please review the Barchart Disclosure Policy
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