Wheat futures were mainly lower on Monday, with the benchmark Chicago market falling for the first time in eight sessions.
Wheat remains underpinned by dry weather concerns for the winter wheat crop in the U.S. and parts of Russia but the strong gains over the past several days convinced some traders to sweep some money off the table. Parts of the US central Plains were battered by wild weather over the weekend, including heavy downpours, high winds and tornadoes. Meanwhile, some rain is starting to come into the forecast in southern Russia. July Chicago wheat fell 13 ¾ cents to $6.08 ½ and July Kansas City dropped 3 ¾ cents to $6.50 ½. July Minneapolis managed a 4 ¼-cent gain to $7.07 ¾.
The losses in wheat helped to drag corn lower. The wet weekend weather is expected to lead to planting delays in some Midwest states, but the moisture is considered beneficial overall. July and December corn each slipped ¾ of a cent to close at $4.49 ¼, and $4.72 ¾, respectively.
Soybeans moved higher on harvest delays in South America. Heavy rain is slowing fieldwork in southern Brazil and raising concern over crop conditions. Rain is also interfering with the soy harvest in eastern Argentina, potentially downgrading crop quality as well. July beans were up 4 ¾ cents to $11.82, and November added 3 ¼ cents to $11.78.
