Chicago | Reuters – Wheat prices rallied on Monday after a Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian port of Odesa over the weekend raised doubts about implementation of last week’s agreement to open a corridor for grain exports from Ukraine.
Soybean and corn futures followed wheat, supported by forecasts for hot, dry weather across parts of the U.S. Midwest during crucial development stages.
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Chicago soybean futures came under pressure on Thursday on a lack of Chinese demand for the U.S. oilseed while corn futures ticked higher on strong export sales data, analysts said.
The most-active wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade Wv1 firmed 11 cents to $7.70 a bushel.
Chicago December corn futures CZ2 added 19-1/2 cents to $5.83-3/4 a bushel. November soybeans SX2firmed 30-1/4 cents to $13.46 a bushel.
Markets fell last week after Russia, Ukraine, the United Nations and Turkey signed the deal on Friday to reopen three Ukrainian Black Sea ports for grain exports. The Russian missile strike on Odesa created skepticism.
Moscow brushed aside concerns the deal could be derailed, saying it targeted only military infrastructure. Ukraine denounced the attack as showing that Moscow cannot be trusted.
Ukraine said it was pressing ahead with efforts to restart exports and that the first grain shipment under the deal could take place this week.
“They’re trying to tell us that, even with Russia attacking their ports right after that agreement was placed, that that’s not going to affect anything. I find that hard to believe,” said Karl Setzer, commodity risk analyst at Agrivisor.
In the United States, recent rains assuaged fears of crop stress, though a return to hot dry weather during crucial corn pollination and soybeans pod development has added fresh support to the markets.
“Once we get past pod set in the beans, pollination in corn, the situation can change,” said Jack Scoville, market analyst at the Price Futures Group. “We’ve dropped an awful lot. To find some stability and put a little weather premium back in the market, I don’t think should be a big surprise.”
– Additional reporting by Nigel Hunt in London
