Timely US rains send Chicago wheat futures plunging

April 29 - Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures closed sharply lower on Tuesday, with nearly all traded contracts sliding to new contract lows during the session, on timely rainfall for U.S. crops and questions about Russian supplies on the global market, market analysts said.

• CBOT July soft red winter wheat WN25 settled down 5-1/2 cents to end at $5.25-1/2 per bushel, and set a fresh contract low on the day. Seven of the Chicago SRW contracts set new contract lows on Tuesday.

• Earlier, the most-active contract Wv1 dipped to the lowest price since April 4.

• K.C. July hard red winter wheat KWN25 ended down 9-3/4 cents at $5.31 per bushel. All the forward month contracts set new contract lows during the day.

• And Minneapolis July spring wheat MWEN25 closed down 4 cents at $5.92-3/4 a bushel.

• More rain is expected in the southern U.S. Plains in the week ahead, which could further ease drought and help crops in important growth stages.

• Traders were monitoring a cold spell in Russia, though a recovery in Russian export volumes this month and U.S.-led efforts to end Russia's war with Ukraine were tempering supply concerns, traders said.

• In its crop progress report released late Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture rated 49% on the nation's winter wheat crop as being in good or excellent condition, up from 45% a week ago.

• Analysts on average had expected the USDA to rate 47% of the nation's winter wheat crop in good to excellent condition.

• For spring wheat, grown mostly in the northern Plains, planting was 30% complete, the USDA said, behind the average analyst estimate of 31% but ahead of the five-year average of 21%. A week ago, 17% of the crop was planted.