By Kirk Maltais


-Wheat for July delivery fell 2.2% to $6.58 1/4 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Tuesday, in response to higher-than-expected crop ratings for U.S. wheat reported by the USDA.

-Soybeans for July delivery fell 0.4% to $11.79 1/2 a bushel.

-Corn for July delivery fell 0.3% to $4.42 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Building Supply: Crop ratings from the USDA show that both the winter and spring wheat crops improved from this time last year--with spring wheat in particular having a strong showing. Planting for spring wheat is 94% complete, ahead of the five-year average of 90%. Some 74% of spring wheat is in good-or-excellent condition, up from 64% at this time last year. Additionally, 49% of winter wheat is in good-or-excellent condition, which is up 1 percentage point from this time last week and 13 percentage points from this time last year. This pressured CBOT wheat Tuesday, ahead of existing concerns about weather in Russian growing areas. "The uptrend is broken for Chicago wheat, Kansas wheat, and Minneapolis wheat," Naomi Blohm of Total Farm Marketing said in a note.

Sputtering Out: Sliding crude oil prices also pressured CBOT grains on Tuesday. "Funds are therefore continuing to sell wheat, corn and soybeans," AgriTel said in a note. Continuous crude oil futures have been down for five consecutive sessions, down 1.3% Tuesday. Oil and grains share a link, because of the proliferation of renewable fuels like ethanol and soybean oil in the vehicle fuel supply.


INSIGHT


Not Worried: Monday's Crop Progress report showed little data-wise to support adding a weather premium to existing futures prices. "June is usually a good month for corn prices as weather premium is bid into the market, but as of right now, there is no indication on the charts that we have found a low," Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives said in a note.

Calm Before The Storms: While weather through May has been mostly supportive for U.S. crop planting, summer heat and an active hurricane season later this summer could throw a wrench into what's been smooth sailing for farmers. "Confidence in details is low but this year's record warm Atlantic/Gulf provides the ingredients for a string of intense showers/hurricanes in summer/early autumn," Daniel Flynn of Price Futures Group said in a note. The potential for weather disruptions has traders on guard, even as current weather has been supportive for growth.


AHEAD


-The EIA will release its weekly ethanol production and stocks report at 10:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.

-The USDA will release its weekly export sales report at 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday.

-The CFTC will release its weekly Commitment of Traders report at 3:30 p.m. ET Friday.


Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-04-24 1529ET