Wheat futures Slumps On Black Sea Grain Deal Hopes, As Rival Soybeans Also Drop

SINGAPORE: On expectations for a Black Sea grain corridor agreement between Russia and Ukraine, Chicago wheat futures slid on Wednesday, losing much of the gains from the previous session and trading close to a 17-month low earlier this week.

Read More:Chicago Wheat Futures Recovers from 17-month Low On US Crop Woes, Corn Firms

Corn grew firmer while soybeans relaxed.

One trader with headquarters in Singapore stated, “The wheat market is pricing in that the Black Sea grain deal will be renewed.” Prices are going down because Russia and Ukraine are expecting a lot of supplies.

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.4 percent to $6.95-1/4 per bushel. Soybeans were down 0.2 percent to $15.13-1/4 per bushel, and corn was up 0.3 percent to $6.36-1/4 per bushel.

Read More :Wheat Trading In Paris At One-Year Low

The wheat market is experiencing pressure from Russian export competition and expectations that a wartime grain corridor from Ukraine will be extended beyond this month.

In the midst of Russia’s war in Ukraine, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday in Kyiv to discuss extending a deal with Moscow that allows the Black Sea export of Ukraine grains.

Prices have also been lowered as a result of forecasts for showers in some wheat belts in the United States.

But Monday’s weekly data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that showed a decline in winter wheat conditions in Kansas, the top producing state in the United States, kept the focus on the ongoing drought in a portion of the United States’ Plains.

Soybeans continued to be supported by drought in Argentina, where heat is believed to limit the benefits of light showers to crops.

A report on Brazilian crops, which may help offset losses in Argentina, is expected on Wednesday from the USDA’s supply and demand report.

Ware reserves were net venders of CBOT soybean, soyoil, soymeal and corn prospects contracts on Tuesday, dealers said. According to traders, funds were the net buyers of CBOT wheat futures.