Chicago wheat futures rose more than 3% on Thursday with prices climbing for the first time in six sessions, supported by concerns over lower Black Sea supplies.
Corn and soybeans gained 2%.
“The wheat market is recovering but we have to really see if there is buying to support prices when the U.S. sessions starts,” said one Singapore-based grains trader.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Wv1 added 3.4% to $/4 a bushel, as of 0504 GMT, after dropping to its lowest since Feb. 17 at $7.85 a bushel on Wednesday.
Corn Cv1 rose 2% to $/4 a bushel and soybeans Sv1 gained 2% at $/4 a bushel.
Worries about wheat supplies from the Black Sea region continue to support prices as the new crop marketing year starts in July.
French consultancy Agritel expects war-hit Ukraine to harvest 21.8 million tonnes of wheat this summer compared to a record 32.2 million collected last year, it said on Wednesday.
The estimate for the /23 season was based on an expected harvested area of 5.8 million hectares, down from 6.7 million hectares initially sown by farmers, said Agritel, which is part of commodity pricing group Argus.
For corn and soybeans, traders are also keeping an eye on U.S. crop weather. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in a daily weather report, said rain showers and thunderstorms from Nebraska to Ohio were greatly benefiting fields.
The agency, in a separate weekly report issued on Tuesday, rated 64% of the corn crop as good to excellent as of Sunday, down 3 percentage points from the previous week. Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average had expected a two-point decline.
Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT wheat and soyoil futures contracts on Wednesday, and net buyers of corn, soybeans and soymeal futures, traders said.
