Mumbai, 30 Apr (Commoditiescontrol): Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat futures on Tuesday fell further from last week's four-month highs as forecasts for rain in key Russian cropping regions eased supply concerns.
The most-active wheat contract on the CBOT was down 0.4% at $6.06 a bushel after falling more than 2% on Monday.
All three contracts have fallen this year to their lowest levels since 2020, with speculative investors expecting supply surpluses and building up large bearish futures positions.
Worries that hot and dry weather in southern Russia would hit yields helped power a seven-day streak of gains for CBOT wheat that pushed prices to $6.33-1/2 on Friday, the highest since Dec. 29.
Russia is the world's biggest wheat exporter.
Dry conditions persist in parts of the United States, however, keeping traders on alert, and wet weather has pushed down European harvest projections.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said last week that as of April 23, around 30% of U.S. winter wheat was located in an area experiencing drought.
A weekly USDA crop progress report on Monday showed 49% of the U.S. winter wheat crop rated in good-to-excellent condition, down a percentage point from last week.
Despite the weather concerns, analysts still expect the global market to shift from the shortages of recent years to surplus.
Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT wheat, traders said.
(By Commoditiescontrol Bureau: 09820130172)