Wheat drops for third session, near 5-week low on Black Sea exports

SINGAPORE: Chicago wheat slid for a third consecutive session on Wednesday, trading near a five-week low with expectations of higher Black Sea supplies and improved US weather weighing on the market. Soybeans gained more ground, while corn edged lower.

“There is improved weather outlook for US winter wheat crop,” said one Australia-based analyst.

“At the same time there is growing optimism that the Black Sea export corridor will be expended.”

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) fell 0.2% to $8.33 a bushel, as of 0421 GMT, after touching its lowest since Sept. 20 at $8.26-3/4 a bushel on Tuesday. Soybeans added 0.3% to $13.95-1/2 a bushel and corn lost 0.1% to $6.85-1/2 a bushel.

Sluggish US wheat exports and competitive prices for Russian and Ukrainian supplies have loomed over wheat markets, offsetting worries that a United Nations-backed shipping corridor from Ukraine may not be extended beyond November.

Ukraine’s exports of agricultural products could rise more than 8% in October from last month, the Ukrainian Agrarian Council said on Tuesday.

Ukraine is keeping its forecast of the winter wheat sowing area for the 2023 harvest unchanged at 3.8 million hectares despite a delay caused by unfavourable weather, deputy agriculture minister Taras Vysotskiy told Reuters on Tuesday.

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Weather forecasts for showers in the coming days in drought-affected wheat zones in Argentina and the US Plains eased supply concerns. In the US Midwest, rains will expand across soft red winter wheat fields over the next two days, “significantly improving moisture for establishment” of the crop, Commodity Weather Group said.

Rains may also deliver a small benefit to the Mississippi River, where low water levels are expected to continue hampering grain shipments, analysts said.

Commodity Weather Group projected a “minor uptick” in the flow on the lower Mississippi River. Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT corn, soybean, soyoil and soymeal futures contracts on Tuesday and net sellers of wheat futures, traders said.