Chicago Wheat: futures rose to the $8 per bushel level, rebounding from the five-month low of $7.65 hit on July 15, as investors monitored talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul regarding the resumption of grain exports out of Ukrainian Black Sea ports.
Despite progress in talks and reports that there may be an agreement soon, output levels are expected to be significantly lower from past harvests, with the latest USDA forecasts pointing to a 44.4% contraction in Ukrainian wheat exports in the 2022/23 year compared to the previous period.
Still, wheat futures remain at levels from before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Data from the USDA’s supply and demand report pointed to a sharp increase in the supply, exports, and ending stocks of wheat in the United States, while forecasting a decrease in consumption for the rest of the world for the 2022/23 marketing year.
