CANBERRA - Chicago wheat futures edged lower on Tuesday as India's decision to allow more exports underscored comfortable global supply, but a ​fall in crop condition ⁠ratings in drought-stressed U.S. Plains limited the decline.

Corn futures edged lower and soybeans ‌were little changed.

FUNDAMENTALS

The most-traded wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Wv1 was down 0.2% ​at $6.04-3/4 a bushel at 0050 GMT.

CBOT corn fell 0.2% to $4.51-1/4 a bushel and soybeans were flat at $11.66 ​a bushel. ​Both crops are, like wheat, well supplied worldwide.

Wheat prices rallied 5% last week and are up almost 20% so far this year, but have lost ⁠momentum since reaching a two-week high of $6.16-3/4 last Thursday, with traders saying the rally has made U.S. wheat less competitive on global export markets.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rated 30% of the nation's winter wheat in good-to-excellent condition, down from 34% the previous week and ​below a ‌range of analyst ⁠estimates, as dry conditions ⁠and a cold snap over the weekend stressed crops.

In Kansas, the state that produces the ​most U.S. winter wheat, the USDA rated 24% of the ‌crop as good to excellent as of Sunday, down from ⁠32% a week before.

Some rain is forecast in the driest areas in the coming days.

The USDA also said that U.S. farmers had planted 12% of the spring wheat crop, 12% of this year's soybeans and 11% of its corn by Sunday.

Elsewhere, India approved an additional 2.5 million metric tons of wheat exports, taking the total export quota to 5 million tons, though a trader said it might fall well short of that level.

In soybeans, top producer Brazil had harvested 92% of ‌its 2025/26 crop as of last Thursday, agribusiness consultancy AgRural said. This ⁠season's crop is expected to be the biggest on record.

​China, the biggest soy importer, is meanwhile expected to import 6.1% fewer beans in 2026 than last year, according to an agriculture ministry-backed outlook.

MARKETS NEWS

Wall Street pulled back from record highs ​on Monday ‌and oil prices spiked as increasing tensions over the crucial Strait of ⁠Hormuz raised concerns that a fragile ​U.S.-Iran ceasefire might not hold.