Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat and corn futures rallied on Monday after a weekend attack that temporarily shut down key port for Ukrainian exports raised concerns about disruptions to grain shipments, traders said.
Soybean futures dropped following rains in Argentina that alleviated concerns about crop shortfalls from that key export country.
News that the Ukrainian port of Odesa suspended operations on Sunday after Russian strikes on energy supply put attention back on risks to wartime grain shipments. The port resumed activity on Monday.
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“The corn and wheat markets are reacting to the Russian bombing of the port in Odessa, which will have significant impact on Ukraine’s ability to export primarily wheat,” Tomm Pfitzenmaier, analyst for Summit Commodity Brokerage, said in a research note.
Traders also noted short-covering in the grains after a string of losses pushed wheat to its lowest since October 2021 and corn to a 3-1/2-month low last week.
Chicago Board of Trade March wheat futures settled up 20-1/2 cents at $7.54-3/4 a bushel (all figures US$). CBOT corn for March delivery was 10 cents higher at $6.54 a bushel.
The U.S. Agriculture Department said that export inspections of wheat totaled 218,460 tonnes and export inspections of corn totaled 505,104 tonnes in the week ended Dec. 8.
CBOT January soybeans dropped 23-1/4 cents to $14.60-1/2 a bushel.
Soybean futures neared a three-month high on Friday, with gains sparked by strong exports to China, the world’s biggest buyer of the oilseed. But investor sentiment cooled as China faced an upturn in infections while it rolls back COVID-19 restrictions.
Soybean export inspections totaled 1.84 million tonnes. That was down from 2.08 million a week earlier and in line with trade forecasts.
In South America, part of Argentina’s drought-hit farm belt received significant rainfall over the weekend, while in Brazil forecasts pointed to ample precipitation in the week ahead.
— Mark Weinraub is a Reuters commodities correspondent in Chicago; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Mayank Bhardwaj in New Delhi.
