Wheat faces biggest weekly drop in eight months on higher inventories

Chicago wheat ticked higher on Friday, but was on track for its biggest weekly ​drop since late July after the U.S. government raised its global stocks forecast in a ​monthly report.

Corn ​was set for a fourth consecutive weekly loss on ample supplies, while soybeans inched higher.

“Wheat crop conditions in the United States ⁠are improving and the overall global supply picture is pretty healthy as we saw in the U.S. report,” said one grains trader in Singapore.

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) rose 0.1% to $5.75-1/4 ​a bushel ‌by 0224 GMT, ⁠corn added 0.2% ⁠to $4.44-3/4 a bushel and soybeans gained 0.3% at $11.68-3/4 a bushel.

For the week, wheat was ​down 3.8%, the biggest weekly drop since late July, ‌corn has lost 1.6% and soybeans were ⁠up around half a percent.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) raised its projection of world wheat stocks at the end of the 2025/26 marketing year to 283.12 million metric tons, up from 276.96 million tons and above a range of analyst expectations, citing larger harvests in Russia and the European Union.

For corn, the USDA left its projection for plentiful U.S. corn inventories unchanged at a seven-year high of 2.127 billion bushels, and raised ‌its view of world corn stocks.

U.S. soybean ending ⁠stocks were unchanged from last month at 350 million ​bushels, while analysts expected 349 million bushels.

In news, consultancy Expana raised its forecast for the European Union’s 2026/27 soft wheat harvest, citing broadly favourable growing conditions, ​while cutting export ‌projections for the next season due to better harvest ⁠prospects in North Africa and the ​Middle East.

Tags: prices, wheat