Chicago wheat rises as Black Sea attacks support prices
- Corn and soybean futures also edged higher after strong US export sales last week
Chicago wheat futures rose due to ongoing concerns about Russian and Ukrainian attacks disrupting Black Sea grain exports, alongside a weakening US dollar and strong US export sales for other crops.
- Impact of Russian and Ukrainian attacks on grain exports.
- Rising prices for corn and soybeans.
- Factors influencing future grain prices and supply.
CANBERRA: Chicago wheat futures rose on Monday, supported by concerns about the impact on supply of Russian and Ukrainian attacks on each other’s export operations.
Corn and soybean futures also edged higher after strong US export sales last week.
The most-traded wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 1.7% at $6.50-3/4 a bushel at 0304 GMT after rising 1.4% on Friday.
Prices are well below highs of more than $7 a bushel hit last month when Black Sea export disruptions began, but are still up nearly 30% so far this year.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that Moscow was targeting global food security by striking Odesa’s seaport.
Russia and Ukraine are among the world’s biggest wheat exporters. Nevertheless, “they do seem to find a way to get the grain out,” said Rod Baker, an analyst at Bendigo Bank Agribusiness in Perth.
The Black Sea situation along with lower production than last year in most major exporting nations will keep prices above $6 a bushel and likely closer to $6.50 over the near term, he said.
“The attacks raise the risk of slower loadings, higher insurance costs, and more cautious vessel movement.
This has already contributed to a risk premium,“ JPMorgan said in a note.
Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s fuel supply could also impact agricultural production by restricting the availability of diesel used by tractors and trucks, it said.
Also supporting Chicago prices was a weakening of the US dollar, which on Monday sat near two-month lows, making US exports more competitive.
Traders now await a monthly report from the US Department of Agriculture on Tuesday with updated yields, acreage and production forecasts that could move prices.
Among other crops, CBOT corn rose 0.5% to $4.64-1/2 a bushel and soybeans were 0.5% higher at $11.81-3/4 a bushel. Both have been trending higher in recent months.
France said its corn production this year would fall by 35% from 2025 to 9 million metric tons, its lowest since at least 1980, after heat waves and drought hurt crops.
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