US wheat, corn, soya fall as Ukraine-Russia fighting enters second month

CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade wheat and corn futures fell on Thursday, with traders noting that the market has already absorbed supply disruptions from the Black Sea region following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a month ago.

“It feels like the market has priced in that there will be an issue with corn and wheat coming out of Ukraine,” said Chris Robinson, founder of Robinson Ag Marketing.

Soyaabean futures also were weaker, pressured by a round of profit taking after three straight days of gains pushed the most-active contract to its highest in nearly a month on Wednesday.

Weakness in crude oil and falling global vegetable oil prices added pressure on the soyabean market.

At 11:16 a.m. CDT (1616 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade May soyabean futures were down 10-1/2 cents $17.08-1/4 a bushel.

A US Agriculture Department report that showed weekly export sales of soyabeans fell to 399,300 tonnes, the lowest since July and well below trade forecasts that ranged from 800,000 to 2.1 million tonnes, weighed on prices.

But a separate USDA announcement that showed private exporters reported the sale of 318,200 tonnes of soyabeans to unknown destinations kept declines in check.