Chicago wheat flat after Ukraine strike raises Black Sea export concerns

CANBERRA: Chicago wheat futures were largely flat on Thursday after a sharp rise in the previous session, when Ukraine attacked grain terminals at a major Russian port, raising concerns about disruption to Black Sea grain exports.

Corn futures fell as the Rosario grain exchange raised its forecast for Argentina’s harvest to record-high levels, but prices maintained most of the gains made on Wednesday after the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said strong demand would eat into US inventories. Soybeans were little changed.

The most-traded wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) edged 0.2% lower at $6.51-1/4 a bushel at 0248 GMT, after rising 3.6% in the previous session.

Wheat is up nearly 30% so far this year following drought that damaged US winter wheat and attacks by Ukraine and Russia, two of the biggest global suppliers, on each other’s export operations.

A Ukrainian strike on Russia’s Novorossiysk port city forced two major grain terminals to halt operations on Wednesday, and Russia overnight hit Ukraine’s Izmail port area, causing damage and fire.

Weeks of attacks have reduced shipments by both nations and left them scrambling to redirect exports to alternative routes.

Chicago wheat rises as Black Sea attacks support prices

Restraining prices are solid Northern Hemisphere harvests that are injecting new grain onto the market, said Commonwealth Bank analyst Dennis Voznesenski.

The combined harvest of Russia, Ukraine and Romania was estimated to be the third largest on record, he wrote in a note to clients.

“If logistical export constraints are resolved, we expect global wheat prices could weaken notably.”

Among other crops, CBOT corn slipped 0.6% to $4.77-3/4 a bushel after surging 4.4% to a two-week high on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, soybeans were flat at $11.81-3/4 a bushel after rising 1.2% in the previous session.

The USDA said US farmers would harvest their second-largest corn crop on record this autumn as lower yields were more than offset by larger plantings.

But it reduced its prediction for end-of-season US stocks to 1.653 billion bushels from 1.790 billion bushels.