Wheat recovers from deep losses, attacks on Ukraine support prices

SINGAPORE: Chicago wheat futures rose on Monday for the first time in four sessions, recovering from last week’s losses as Russian attacks on Ukraine’s agricultural infrastructure over the weekend supported prices.

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Soybean and corn futures rose for a second straight session.

Fundamentals

• The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) rose 1.1% to $5.34-1/4 a bushel, as of 0014 GMT. The contract fell 1.7% last week to trade near its weakest level in three-and-a-half years.

• Soybeans climbed 0.6% to $12.05-1/2 a bushel and corn gained 0.6% to $4.39-1/4 a bushel.

• Russian air attacks damaged agricultural enterprises and destroyed several industrial buildings in the Black Sea port of Odesa, Ukraine’s forces said on Sunday.

• Most of Ukraine’s regions have started 2024 spring sowing, seeding the 128,100 hectares of spring wheat, peas, barley and oats. Last month, the country’s agriculture ministry said that farmers were expected to reduce the area sown with corn by 9% year-on-year.

• US wheat is facing intense competition from heavy flow of Russian supplies, which has prompted Chinese buyers to cancel some of the deals to buy US and Australian cargoes.

• The US Department of Agriculture recently confirmed in its daily reporting system that exporters reported cancellations of more than 500,000 tons of US wheat sold to China. Sources said Chinese importers also cancelled and postponed over 1 million tons of Australian wheat amid low Black Sea prices.

• Corn futures are being supported by short covering, after confirmation of private sales of 125,000 metric tons of US corn to unknown destinations for the 2023/24 marketing year.

• Large speculators trimmed their net short position in CBOT corn futures in the week to March 12, regulatory data released on Friday showed.

• The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly commitments of traders report also showed that noncommercial traders, a category that includes hedge funds, increased their net short position in CBOT wheat and trimmed their net short position in soybeans.