Wheat prices continue to weaken as of Tuesday, with Chicago SRW futures down 1 to 3 cents, while KC HRW futures dropped 2 ¾ to 7 ½ cents and MPLS spring wheat fell 1 ¼ to 2 ¼ cents. Open interest increased by 4,202 contracts. The U.S. winter wheat crop is reported to be 7% headed, ahead of the 5% five-year average, but with a condition rating of only 35% good/excellent—significantly lower than the average expectation of 42%.
Export inspections for the week ending April 2 showed wheat shipments at 334,106 MT (12.27 million bushels), marking a 13.5% decline from the previous week and a 0.38% dip year-over-year. The leading destination for U.S. wheat was Mexico, receiving 273,703 MT, followed by Indonesia and South Korea. Meanwhile, Argus estimated the Russian wheat crop at 88.7 million metric tons, a 1.2 million metric ton increase from prior estimates.
