Wheat gains for third session on fears of escalation in Russia-Ukraine war

BEIJING: Chicago wheat futures rose on Tuesday for a third session in a row, supported by concerns of an escalating war in the Black Sea breadbasket region after the White House lifted restrictions for Ukraine to use U.S missiles to strike deep within Russia.

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Corn followed wheat’s gains, while soybeans eased.

Fundamentals

• The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 0.9% to $5.47 a bushel, while corn gained 0.06% to $4.29 a bushel, also up for a third day.

• The soybean contract was down 0.2% at $10.08 a bushel, as of 0143 GMT, after a two-day rise.

• US President Joe Biden’s administration has lifted restrictions that had blocked Ukraine from using US-provided weapons to strike deep into Russian territory, sources said.

• Ukraine plans to conduct its first long-range attacks in the coming days, the sources said.

• US winter wheat crop conditions improved more than expected over the past week following much-needed rain in the Plains farm belt, according to a weekly crop condition report from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Monday.

• Russian wheat export prices have fallen in line with global trends with exports remaining strong ahead of the introduction of a restrictive export quota in the second half of the season, analysts said.

• Brazil’s agriculture minister said the country will announce farm agreements with its biggest trade partner China on Wednesday, ahead of scheduled meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The minister noted that the deals will potentially cover fruit, beef and pork.

• Brazil’s soybean planting for the 2024/25 season had reached 80% of the total expected area as of last Thursday, agribusiness consultancy AgRural said, up from 67% the previous week and 68% a year earlier.

• Chinese exporters of a wide range of products from aluminium goods to used cooking oil and solar power gear will raise prices and renegotiate contracts to pass on the cost of Beijing’s tax incentive cuts, traders and analysts said.

• Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT corn, soybean, soyoil, soymeal and wheat futures contracts on Monday, traders said.