At the beginning of the week, wheat futures prices fell on all three American exchanges. Soft red winter wheat SRW contracts in Chicago decreased by 10–11 cents: the May contract fell to $5.385 (-10.25¢), and the July contract to $5.5225 (-10¢). Hard red winter wheat HRW in Kansas City lost 6–7 cents: the May contract fell to $5.5075 (-6.75¢), and the July contract to $5.6375 (-6.25¢). Spring wheat MGEX in Minnesota fell by 5–7 cents: the May contract – $6.00 (-6.25¢), and the July contract – $6.14 (-5.25¢).
According to the Crop Progress report as of April 20, 17% of spring wheat was seeded in the US, which is above the five-year average (12%). 2% of the planted areas had emerged, in line with the norm. Winter wheat crops are at the heading stage on 15% of planted areas, which is 2 points above the average. The quality assessment of winter wheat in the good/excellent category decreased by 2 points to 45%, and the Brugler500 index decreased by 4 points to 325. It is expected that in the coming days, most of the Great Plains, from Texas to South Dakota, will expect rain.