The July wheat contract traded in Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) It closed this Tuesday (23) with a sharp drop of 10.75 points and 1.80%, quoted at US$ cents 586.75/bushel. In Kansas City Bank Exchange (KCBT)The futures contract for the same month fell 15.25 points and 2.41%, to US$ cents 618.25/bushel. In this trading session, cereal prices were pressured by new rain showers and storms in the Plains, which continue to provide limited relief for crops. "However, the persistent impacts of the drought still include poor conditions, in addition to soil moisture deficits," says the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in its daily weather bulletin. Furthermore, the increase in domestic supply weighed on prices, as the winter crop harvest continues. USDA data indicates that harvesting has reached 40% of the cultivated area, well ahead of the multi-year average of 24%. Of the crops still in the field, 26% are in good to excellent condition – down 1 percentage point from the previous week and well below the 49% at the same time last year. Furthermore, 28% are in fair condition and 46% are in poor or very poor condition. In the case of spring wheat, 15% of the crops are in the tillering stage, a rate slightly behind the 16% observed both in the last harvest and in the average of the last five years. Regarding crop conditions, areas classified as good/excellent represent 54% of the total (a decrease of 1 percentage point), in line with what was observed in the previous season. Furthermore, 40% are classified as fair and 6% as poor/very poor.
This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.