As snowfall and rains across the Midwest and Great Plains cause drought to recede in the United States, wheat farmers are hopeful for what experts believe could be a bumper harvest.

US Department of Agriculture officials in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas released regional reports on wheat condition on Monday afternoon. The regional offices' reports show modest improvements of 2-4 percent in the condition of winter wheat across the drought areas, with the exception of Texas, where condition dropped off. There, only 16 percent of the wheat crop was rated 'good to excellent', compared to 18 percent at the beginning of the month.  

Nevertheless, although increased precipitation has eased the worst of the drought conditions and higher than average temperatures have aided maturity, particularly in more Northern states, the after-effects of drought linger on. USDA said soil moisture levels remain a cause for concern across all three states reporting on Monday. There are fears that, unless conditions improve, the lack of moisture will hamper spring planting.

The Oklahoma office also reported that the state has received less than half its usual amount of rainfall since the beginning of the month.

Farmers in the EU and Russia, where conditions are set to improve after last year's challenging weather, hope to reap large harvests this year. Despite ongoing drought in parts of the country and neighbouring New Zealand, Australia's wheat farmers also remain hopeful. Although a cold snap has caused concern for oilseed growers in some regions, German authorities have said that snow cover in the North and East is protecting wheat crops.

A Worldwide revival in wheat growing and more clement conditions are expected to cause prices to ease as the year goes on, following major hikes at the height of the US Drought last summer. UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and US Department of Agriculture have both estimated that prices will continue to slide as the year goes on.

On Friday, wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade dropped by 1.4 percent on news that conditions remain favourable throughout most of the world's breadbasket regions. However, on Tuesday futures rose in Paris; the one Euro rise came as a result of the currency's weakness against the dollar, which improved export prospects for EU states.

Earlier this month, the UN FAO suggested that the 2013 wheat harvest is set to be the second largest on record, with forecasts suggesting a rise of 4.3 percent on last year, which would bring the global harvest to 690 million tonnes.