Wheat Market Sees Declines Amidst Mixed Performance Across Exchanges

The wheat market is experiencing losses across all three exchanges as trading opens on Thursday. On Wednesday, wheat displayed mixed results at the close, with Kansas City (KC) contracts higher while others saw declines. Chicago SRW futures lost between 1 to 2 cents during the day. In contrast, Kansas City HRW contracts finished up by 3 to 4 cents. Preliminary open interest decreased by 4,491 contracts, while MPLS spring wheat closed 1 to 2 cents lower.

Impact of Tariffs on Market

President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs omitted Mexico and Canada, while maintaining exemptions for all USMCA-compliant goods. Reciprocal tariffs were implemented against Japan at 24%, South Korea at 25%, and the Philippines at 17%, set to take effect on April 9.

Forecast for USDA Export Sales

The USDA’s Export Sales report is anticipated to indicate net reductions between 100,000 metric tons (MT) and net sales of up to 300,000 MT for 2024/25 wheat for the week ending March 27. Predictions for new crop sales range from zero to 200,000 MT.

Global Market Trends

In addition to U.S. markets, weaker price movements are noted in French milling wheat futures, which are near multi-month lows.

Current Wheat Futures Prices

Below are the closing prices for various wheat futures on May 25:

• CBOT Wheat: Closed at $5.39 1/4, down 1 1/4 cents; currently down 9 cents.
• July CBOT Wheat: Closed at $5.52 3/4, down 1 cent; currently down 8 1/2 cents.
• KCBT Wheat: Closed at $5.68 1/2, up 3 1/4 cents; currently down 5 1/4 cents.
• July KCBT Wheat: Closed at $5.79 3/4, up 3 cents; currently down 5 1/2 cents.
• MGEX Wheat: Closed at $5.92 1/2, down 1 1/2 cents; currently down 3 1/4 cents.
• July MGEX Wheat: Closed at $6.08, down 2 cents; currently down 3 1/4 cents.

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

The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Nasdaq, Inc.