Chicago | Reuters – Chicago wheat climbed on Friday after a Ukrainian drone attack near a Russian Black Sea export hub, rekindling global supply fears while India raised demand expectations as it considers scrapping wheat tariffs.
Soybeans climbed on stronger crude and vegetable oil markets, also on alert following the Black Sea disruptions. Corn followed wheat higher.
Chicago Board of Trade most active wheat Wv1gained 6 cents to $6.33 per bushel, after climbing to $6.53-3/4 overnight. Wheat futures ended the week down 9.83% lower, its biggest weekly loss since the week ended June 30.
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As the harvest in southern Alberta presses on, a broker said that is one of the factors pulling feed prices lower in the region. Darcy Haley, vice-president of Ag Value Brokers in Lethbridge, added that lower cattle numbers in feedlots, plentiful amounts of grass for cattle to graze and a lacklustre export market also weighed on feed prices.
CBOT corn Cv1firmed 3-3/4 cents to end at $4.97-1/4 per bushel. For the week, the contract fell 6.18%.
Soybeans Sv1added 8 cents to end at $13.33-1/4 a bushel, but ended the week down 3.73%.
Ukrainian sea drones attacked a Russian navy base near the port of Novorossiysk, a major terminal for Russian grain and oil exports. The port temporarily halted all ship movement before resuming normal operations.
“There was some destruction, but the port is still working,” said Tom Fritz, commodity broker at EFG Group. “Markets get emotional, we get these middle of the night spikes, but as long as these ports continue to work, what’s the point of sustaining the rally?”
Disruption of Russian shipments through the Black Sea, in addition to already curtailed Ukrainian exports, could unsettle the wheat market, traders said, but like after recent Russian strikes against Ukrainian grain ports, participants were assessing the actual impact on export markets.
Wheat was further boosted by the possibility that India is considering cutting or abolishing import taxes on wheat.
India’s food secretary rejected reports of a deal to import Russian wheat, though the country could increase imports to cool domestic prices.
“There’s a disparity between India’s wheat production, officially, and what some of the larger private firms and some of the vegetation density maps and satellite imagery would suggest. And this compounds the problem of their rice crop as well,” said Mike Zuzolo, president of Global Commodity Analytics.
Strength in corn and soybeans due to global supply uncertainty was capped by weather forecasts for improving weather for U.S. crops and uncertain demand.
–Reporting for Reuters by Christopher Walljasper; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris, Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Michael Hogan in Hamburg.
