(Updates for market close)
By Heather Schlitz
CHICAGO, May 27 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat fell to a
two-week low on Wednesday, rounding off a fifth consecutive day
of losses, as traders ignored a worsening of U.S. crop ratings
and looked ahead to Northern Hemisphere harvests that will pour
new supply into the market.
"It's the harvest, and we've already factored in production
losses. The fact of the matter is until we see losses in a major
producer like Australia there's still plenty of wheat to go
around," said Jim Gerlach, president of A/C Trading. "It's a
pretty tough time to rally going into harvest."
Corn futures hit a one-month low and soybeans ticked down as
both came under pressure from falling crude oil prices.
The most actively traded wheat contract on the Chicago Board
of Trade settled 13 cents lower at $6.22-1/2 per bushel.
Traders shrugged off U.S. government data on Tuesday showing
that 26% of the U.S. winter wheat crop was in good-to-excellent
condition, below analyst expectations and the lowest for this
time of the year on record.
CBOT corn ended 5 cents lower at $4.52-1/2 per bushel.
Soybeans ended 3/4 cent lower at $11.85-1/4 per bushel.
Weakening crude oil prices have pressured corn and soybean
prices, as both are feedstocks for biofuel.
Oil prices were about 4% lower on Wednesday after Iranian
state TV said it had seen a draft of an initial, unofficial
framework for an agreement between Iran and the United States on
ending their conflict and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
"Crude oil is down and that's sucking the life out of
commodities," Gerlach said.
Traders are also awaiting crop purchases from China.
Following the summit between the two countries, the White House
said China will purchase at least $17 billion per year of U.S.
agricultural products.