Mumbai, 16 Apr (Commoditiescontrol): Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat futures rose marginally on Tuesday but held near four-year lows as a strengthening dollar made U.S. exports less competitive, while huge volumes of cheap grain continuing to flow from Russia also weighed on sentiment.
The most-active wheat contract on the CBOT was up 0.1% at $5.52 a bushel. Prices fell to $5.24 a bushel on March 11, their lowest since August 2020.
The dollar rose to its strongest since Nov. 2 against a basket of currencies, making U.S. farm goods costlier for buyers with other currencies.
Russian wheat export prices stabilized last week after rising for the previous four weeks, analysts said.
Consultants Sovecon estimated that Russia would export 4.2-4.6 million metric tons of wheat in April, compared with a record-high 4.4 million tons a year ago. Russia shipped around 4.9 million tons in March, the most for any March on record.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) weekly crop progress report rated 55% of the U.S. winter wheat crop as being in good-to-excellent condition, down 1% from last week but still the highest for this time of year since 2020.
The relatively strong wheat ratings underscore a shift in global grain supplies to surplus after shortages in recent years.
Speculative investors are betting on further price falls for wheat as well as corn and soybeans and were net sellers of all three CBOT contracts on Monday, traders said.
(By Commoditiescontrol Bureau: 09820130172)