Chicago wheat futures lost more ground on Tuesday after a weekly U.S. government report showed improvement in the condition of winter crop which had been hit by dry weather.

Corn and soybeans were largely unchanged.

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) fell 0.9% to $6.94-1/2 a bushel, as of 0309 GMT. Corn lost 0.3% to $6.31-1/4 a bushel and soybeans gave up 0.3% to $14.81 a bushel.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service in a weekly crop report on Monday rated 19% of the winter wheat in top producer Kansas in good to excellent condition, up from 17% the previous week.

Approximately 53% of U.S. winter wheat is produced in an area currently experiencing drought, the USDA said last week, a reduction from 55% a week earlier and down from 69% as the year began.

Russia laid out conditions on Monday for agreeing to any further extension of the Black Sea grain deal, and President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow could send free grain to African countries if those conditions were not met.

Ukraine’s 2023 grain harvest is likely to fall to 44.3 million tonnes from 53.1 million in 2022 as less acreage is sown due to the Russian invasion, a forecast by the Ukrainian agriculture ministry showed on Monday.

Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT soybean and soyoil futures contracts on Monday and were net sellers of corn, wheat and soymeal futures, traders said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)