Wheat climbs to one-week high ahead of Christmas break

BEIJING: Chicago wheat gained more ground on Wednesday, climbing to a one-week high on positioning ahead of the Christmas break, although ample supplies curbed the upside in prices. Soybean and corn futures rose, having closed largely unchanged on Tuesday.

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) rose 0.7% to $5.20-3/4 per bushel by 0306 GMT, after climbing to its highest since December 16 earlier in the session.

Soybeans gained 0.5% at $10.68-1/2 a bushel and corn added 0.3% to $4.48-3/4 a bushel.

Wheat has rallied this week on positioning ahead of the year-end, when traders and investors typically cover positions.

There has been some additional support from concerns that escalation in the war in Ukraine could disrupt Black Sea exports.

A senior Ukrainian official said on Monday that Russian troops hit port and energy infrastructure in an overnight attack on the Odesa region, causing a fire at a major port and disrupting electricity supplies to tens of thousands of people.

However, ample supply of Argentinian and Australian wheat has countered support from the Black Sea war.

In the soybean market, traders remained cautious about the pace of Chinese purchases of US beans under a bilateral trade truce, while forecasters continued to project another record harvest in Brazil this season.

European Union soft wheat exports since the start of the 2025/26 season in July reached 10.80 million metric tons by December 21, down 2% from a year earlier, European Commission data showed on Tuesday.