Wheat jumps almost 2% as Russian attack on Ukrainian port supports prices

SINGAPORE: Chicago wheat rose nearly 2% on Thursday and was on track for its biggest single-day gain in six weeks, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s Odesa port and expectations of lower output in France underpinned the market.

Soybeans rose for a second session on bargain-buying, while corn inched higher, although gains in both markets were curbed by expectations of large global supplies.

“Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian port of Odessa last night is the main factor supporting prices today,” said one grains trader in Singapore.

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) rose 1.9% to $5.45 a bushel by 0218 GMT and was on course for its biggest daily gain since early July.

Soybeans rose 0.4% to $9.72-1/2 a bushel and corn was up 0.5% at $4.02-3/4 a bushel. Russian forces attacked port infrastructure in Ukraine’s southern city of Odesa on Wednesday evening, injuring at least two people, Ukrainian officials said.

Cheaper supplies from the Black Sea region have weighed on prices in recent weeks.

This year’s rain-affected French soft wheat crop that is set to bring the smallest volume since the 1980s is also showing mixed milling quality, mainly for test weights, farm office FranceAgriMer said on Wednesday.

For soybeans, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) raised its forecast for the 2024/25 US crop to a record level in a monthly outlook on Monday.

EU wheat futures drift lower

The lower cost of growing soy versus corn, floods in some areas and a quick winter-wheat harvest drove the US government to raise its soybean-production forecast to a record high, farmers and analysts said.

The weather outlook remained benign for corn and soybean crops in the US Midwest.

Argentina’s current 2023/24 corn harvest will likely reach 49 million metric tons, the Rosario grains exchange said on Wednesday, up about 3% from its previous forecast of 47.5 million tons.

Traders are monitoring drought in Ukraine, where producers warned that the corn crop could shrink by a third from last year if there is no rain relief.

Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT soybean, soymeal, corn and wheat futures contracts on Wednesday, according to traders.

They were net sellers of soyoil.