U.S. wheat futures trade near 6-month high ahead of USDA reports

Investing.com - U.S. wheat futures traded near a six-month peak on Tuesday, amid mounting concerns over the pace of the harvest.

Market players are looking ahead to a pair of key reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on acreage and quarterly stocks due later in the day.

On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, US wheat for September delivery tacked on 1.38 cents, or 0.24%, to trade at $5.8438 a bushel during U.S. morning hours. A day earlier, wheat rallied to $5.9140, a level not seen since January 7, before ending at $5.8340, up 15.4 cents, or 2.73%.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday that nearly 38% of the U.S. winter-wheat crop was harvested as of June 29, compared to 19% a week earlier. Approximately 42% of the crop was harvested in the same week last year, while the five-year average for this time of year is 46%.

About 41% of the U.S. winter-wheat crop was rated good to excellent as of last week, unchanged from the preceding week. The agency also said that nearly 72% of the spring-wheat crop was in good to excellent condition, compared to 71% a week earlier.

Wheat prices soared almost 23% in June amid speculation excessive rainfall in the U.S. Midwest will damage crops and delay the pace of the harvest.

According to data from the National Weather Service, up to six times the normal amount of rain has fallen in parts of the Midwest over the past two weeks, and more precipitation is in the forecast for the coming days.

Meanwhile, US corn for September delivery inched up 2.6 cents, or 0.66%, to trade at $3.9500 a bushel. On Monday, corn hit $3.9940, the most since January 13, before closing at $3.9200, down 0.4 cents, or 0.13%.

Approximately 68% of the corn crop was in good to excellent condition as of June 21, according to the USDA, down from 71% in the preceding week. The five-year average is 75% for this time of year.

Elsewhere on the Chicago Board of Trade, US soybeans for August delivery shed 6.37 cents, or 0.64%, to trade at $9.8763. Prices of the oilseed dipped 3.2 cents, or 0.33%, on Monday to settle at $9.9440.

According to the USDA, almost 94% of the soybean crop was planted as of last week up from 90% in the preceding week. Soybean emergence was 89% complete, improving from 84% a week earlier, while the five-year average pace for the week is 94%.

Nearly 63% of the soybean crop was in good to excellent condition as of June 28, down from 65% in the preceding week and compared to 72% in the year-earlier period.

Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, followed by soybeans, government figures show. Wheat was fourth, behind hay.