CHICAGO: US wheat futures sagged 2 percent to their lowest in nearly 11 weeks on Monday, pressured by good forecasts for growth across key growing regions and light export demand, traders said.

Showers that will boost soil moisture were forecast for the southern US Plains, the country’s main hard red winter wheat growing area.

Soft red winter wheat will benefit from protective snow cover that will guard the crop from damage related to freezing conditions in the US Midwest.

The front-month Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat contract posted the biggest decline and bottomed out at $ 5.19-1/4 a bushel, its lowest since Nov. 11, 2014.

K.C. hard red winter wheat hit its lowest since Oct. 1 and MGEX spring wheat dropped to its lowest since Nov. 19.

CBOT soft red winter wheat, K.C. hard red winter wheat and MGEX spring wheat all closed near session lows.

The US Agriculture Department said on Monday morning that 263,035 tonnes of wheat were inspected for export in the latest week, near the low end of trade forecasts ranging from 250,000 to 400,000 tonnes.