Wheat futures in the US turned around last night, shedding AUD$19.37 per tonne in the nearby contract at Chicago. The decline in the September and December SRWW and HRWW futures were not that dissimilar.
Drier weather in the lower HRW states is helping to clean up harvest there but showers and storms continue to be a feature for the soft red winter wheat regions of the US.  Winter wheat harvest progress in last night’s USDA crop condition report is estimated at 63%, 2% ahead of the average. The southern regions and the HRWW states making the best progress. Generally speaking, most states, even the SRWW states, are close to average with the harvest progress. The only state that is obviously having some issues is Colorado, not a massive producer though.
The last seven days in the US has seen good rainfall across much of the corn belt. The crop condition rating for corn was unchanged with 64% rated G/E but the G/E split did improve. Soybeans shed 1% in the G/E rating, now pegged at 52% G/E.
Talk of possible heat stress creeping into the US row crops over the next few days helped rally corn and soybean futures at Chicago. Heat will become an issue across the western mid-west late in the week and high temperatures could persist through too late in the third week in July.
We also have the USDA WASDE out tonight for those that like mulling over 30-day old data, will it be a game changer, I guess that depends on how your book reads.
The best news this morning is the sharp decline in the value of the AUD against most of the major currencies. The AUD breached technical support around 67.5, falling to a low of 67.18 overnight before staging a slight recovery. The punters are lined up to keep selling if the 67c barrier is breached and if breached could, according to major analyst could push the AUD as low as 66c. Talk of global recession doesn’t fuel a commodity-based economy.