Chicago | Reuters—Chicago wheat futures Wv1 fell for an eighth day on Friday for their lowest close in a month after Turkey said it would halt wheat imports in a blow to the global demand outlook.
Wheat prices fell 7.5 per cent this week, their biggest weekly loss since July 2023. Analysts also expected a strong U.S. winter wheat crop to boost supplies of the grain and concerns over Russian crop damage eased.
Corn and soybean futures edged lower after a strong U.S. jobs report boosted the dollar, which makes U.S. exports less competitive.
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The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Wv1slipped 12 cents to settle at $6.27-1/2 a bushel, its lowest since May 6.
Turkey will halt wheat imports from June 21 until at least Oct. 15 to protect domestic producers, the agriculture ministry said.
Turkey is a key destination for Black Sea wheat, notably Russian wheat, and the absence of Turkish demand could stiffen competition in other export markets, traders said.
“It’s another knock on potential export business, and that’s not good,” Mark Gold, founder of Top Third Ag Marketing, said.
Analysts in a Reuters poll published on Thursday estimated the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s June 12 crop production report will forecast a harvest of 1.298 billion bushels of winter wheat, above the May estimate.
“Winter wheat harvest has just kicked off, and a lot of analysts are thinking wheat production numbers will be high,” said Lane Akre, economist at ProFarmer.
The demand setback further shifted attention away from weather risks in Russia, where the country has declared a federal emergency in 10 regions because of damage to crops resulting from frosts in May.
CBOT soybeans Sv1settled down 20-3/4 cents at $11.79-1/4 per bushel while corn Cv1settled 3-1/4 cents lower at $4.48-3/4 per bushel.
Favorable crop conditions in the United States, where farmers have made steady progress in planting corn and soybeans while starting winter wheat harvesting, were also curbing prices.
—Reporting for Reuters by Heather Schlitz and Julie Ingwersen in Chicago with addditional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Peter Hobson in Canberra
