Chicago wheat futures gained more ground on Thursday, with slowing exports from the Black Sea region amid the Russian-Ukraine war raising concerns about world supplies.
Soybeans rose on forecasts of dry weather in parts of Argentina.
“Argentina has received some rains this week but traders see a drier period just ahead,” Hightower said in a report. “Some weather traders see the drought stress continuing in the longer term.”
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) rose 0.4% to $/4 a bushel, as of 0306 GMT.
Soybeans added 0.5% to $/4 a bushel and corn quarter of a cent to $/4 a bushel.
Concerns over Ukrainian grain exports mounted as data from the country’s farm ministry showed that shipments have slowed over the past 10 days, with volumes so far this month 9% behind the same period last year.
Ukraine on Sunday said Russia was blocking the full implementation of a Black Sea grain export deal, forcing Ukrainian ports to work at 25% to 30% of their capacity.
The agreement, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July, paved the way for Ukraine to resume grain exports from Black Sea ports that had been shut since Russia invaded in February.
United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths said on Wednesday that he was “relatively optimistic” that a U.N.-brokered deal that allowed a resumption of Ukraine Black Sea grain exports would be extended beyond mid-November.
Griffiths travelled to Moscow with senior U.N. trade official Rebeca Grynspan earlier this month for discussions with Russian officials on the deal, which also aims to facilitate exports of Russian grain and fertilizer to global markets.
Argentina’s /23 wheat harvest will come in at 13.7 million tonnes, the Rosario grain exchange said on Wednesday, a sharp cut from its previous forecast of 15 million tonnes amid a protracted drought that has hammered farmers in the country.
Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT corn and soymeal futures contracts on Wednesday and net buyers of wheat and soyoil futures, traders said. Funds were seen as net even in soybeans.
