CBOT wheat ends lower as US crop ratings improve

CHICAGO, June 3 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures ended lower on Tuesday, pressured by improving U.S. wheat condition ratings and a firmer dollar, which tends to make U.S. grains less competitive globally, traders said.

• CBOT July soft red winter wheat WN25 settled down 3 cents at $5.36 per bushel.

• K.C. July hard red winter wheat KWN25 ended down 3 cents at $5.36-3/4 while Minneapolis July spring wheat MWEN25 fell 9-1/4 cents to finish at $6.18 a bushel.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday rated 50% of the U.S. spring wheat crop as good-to-excellent, up 5 percentage points from the prior week, while winter wheat ratings improved to 52% good-to-excellent, up 2 points. The ratings for both crops were better than most analysts had expected.

• Seasonal pressure from the start of the Northern Hemisphere winter wheat harvest also hung over prices. The USDA said the U.S. winter wheat harvest was 3% complete as of June 1.

• European wheat futures drifted lower, hovering near contract lows, as traders assessed further Ukrainian strikes on Russian targets, as well as improved U.S. crop ratings. News that Ukraine had hit the road and rail bridge linking Russia and the Crimean peninsula revived fears of escalation in the war between the two grain-exporting countries.