Mexico City | Reuters — Chicago wheat rebounded from a 25-month low to close higher on Wednesday, edging up on fresh tensions between Russia and Ukraine that cast doubt on the future of the Black Sea grains corridor, analysts said.
Corn also gained on the tensions. Soybeans, meanwhile, followed with a rally after touching a seven-month low in the session.
Russia accused Ukraine on Wednesday of attacking the Kremlin with drones overnight in a failed attempt to kill President Vladimir Putin.
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Later, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Russia did not appear to be interested in extending the Black Sea grain deal, but that Kyiv was focused on looking for partners to fulfil the deal and was not looking for Russian interest.
Talks are due to be held in Moscow on Friday, but it was unclear whether all parties were in agreement.
“It’s a combo of being oversold, heavily short by the funds, the Russia-Ukraine issue escalation, the tactic to negotiate the Black Sea and people coming out and saying the rains that happened in the Plains may not have helped the Kansas City wheat, that the damage is done,” said Craig Turner, commodities trader at Daniels Trading.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) gained 30-1/2 cents to $6.39-3/4 a bushel, after it earlier dipped to a session low of $6.03-3/4, the lowest since April 2021 (all figures US$).
Corn ended 8-1/2 cents higher at $5.88-1/2 a bushel and soybeans settled up 6-3/4 cents at $14.17-1/2 a bushel, after dropping to $13.92-1/4 in the session, the lowest since Oct. 2022.
Ukraine’s grain exports could fall to around 26 million tonnes in the 2023-24 season as harvest has sunk, largely due to Russia’s invasion, a senior ministry official said.
— Reporting for Reuters by Cassandra Garrison in Mexico City and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.
