Pre-Opening Wheat Market Report for 4/27/2010

July wheat was 1/4 of a cent lower overnight. The dollar was moderately higher.

The wheat market saw a spectacular drop during mid session yesterday with traders crediting the move to a burst of selling by funds that set off a wave of added selling by commission houses and technicians. Prices recovered somewhat over the remainder of the session, but the market still finished substantially lower. Overnight action was inconclusive with the July contract trading at mixed to higher levels despite a mixed to higher dollar. Traders indicate that favorable crop conditions for winter wheat and rapid planting progress for spring wheat in the US and Canada is helping to pressure the market.

The USDA’s Crop Progress report out yesterday afternoon showed that 69% of the US winter wheat crop is in good-to-excellent condition. This is unchanged from last week and substantially above last year when just 45% of the crop was good-to-excellent. Fourteen percent of the winter wheat crop was headed as of Sunday versus the 5-year average of 21%. The spring wheat crop was 43% planted as of Sunday, up substantially from 20% last week and the 5-year average of 27%. The spring wheat crop is 9% emerged versus the 5-year average of 6%.

Export inspections were on the soft side at 9.846 million bushels, down from last week and well below the average needed to reach the USDA’s export projection for 2009/10. Cumulative inspections stand at 87.4% of the USDA’s projection for the 2009/10 marketing year versus a 5-year average of 87.8%. Statistics Canada pegged its 2010 all-wheat acreage at 23.2 million acres yesterday, down 5.1% from 2009.