Wheat futures crept slightly higher on Tuesday amid mostly lower condition ratings for the 2025 US crop. Corn was also a bit higher, while soybeans slipped.
A state crop progress report pegged the winter wheat crop in top producer Kansas at 47% good to excellent as of Jan. 5. That is down from the late November rating of 47% but still 4 points higher on the year. Ratings in Nebraska, Oklahoma and South Dakota also declined but improved in Montana and Colorado. Chart short covering also helped to boost wheat. March Chicago wheat gained 2 cents to $5.42 ½, March Kansas City was up 2 ½ cents at $5.55 ¾, and March Minneapolis added 2 ½ cents to $5.94 ¾.
The gains in wheat offered some support to corn, which continues to trade at six-month highs. March inched a ¼ cent higher to $4.58 and new-crop December added ¾ of a cent to $4.46 ¼.
Soybeans were undermined by ideas of wetter conditions for Argentina and southern Brazil. Although forecasts look mostly dry for the next 10 days or so, rain is starting to appear after that, and some weather watchers suggest conditions could turn notably wetter in February. March beans slopped a ¼ cent to $9.97 ¼, and November was down 1 ½ cents at $10.11 ½.
