BEIJING/HAMBURG: Chicago wheat touched 10-month highs on Monday with corn and soybeans also rising following gains in crude oil, as US-Iran peace talks stalled leaving Gulf shipping blocked.
Chicago Board of Trade most-active Wheat rose 0.8percent to USD6.22 a bushel by 0936 GMT, touching its highest since June 2025. Soybeans rose 0.2percent to USD11.81-3/4 a bushel and corn was up 1.0percent at USD4.68-1/4 a bushel.
“Prices are mainly influenced by the spillover effect of rising crude oil prices,” said Johnny Xiang, founder of Beijing-based AgRadar Consulting. Grain markets have been supported by soaring crude oil prices, which rose almost 3percent on Monday, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key outlet for fertiliser, as corn and soybeans are feedstocks for biofuels.
“Wheat importers have been delaying purchases because of high prices in hopes that an Iran peace deal could push markets down,” one European trader said. “But there was a very large Saudi wheat purchase of close to a million tons, providing new demand.” Saudi Arabian state buying agency GFSA on Monday bought 985,000 metric tons of wheat in an international tender.
Shipment was limited to Saudi Arabian Red Sea ports to avoid the blocked Hormuz Strait at the entrance to the Gulf. Traders are looking ahead to a mid-May meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping with hopes that China will agree additional purchases of US soybeans and other agricultural goods. Corn prices were underpinned by robust export demand, with another South Korean corn purchase reported on Monday.
Early US soybean and corn planting has been making good progress, though storms expected in the US Midwest could delay seeding in some areas. Traders are monitoring rain forecast in the central United States, which may ease stress on drought-parched wheat crops.
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