Chicago wheat futures jumped
on Tuesday, as hope dimmed for the US diplomatic push to end
the Ukrainian war, which has disrupted shipments out of the
Black Sea region. Soybeans and corn also gained.
The most-traded wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade
(CBOT) jumped 3 per cen at $7.56-1/2 a bushel by 0235 GMT. CBOT
corn gained 0.7 per cent to $5.40-1/4 a bushel, while soybeans
rose 0.2 per cent to $13.12 a bushel.
US peace envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met
Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv over the weekend, but
their diplomatic efforts did not appear to secure a breakthrough
in ending the war.
Traders said the US envoys’ visit to Russia did not seem
to have resulted in a peace breakthrough that would enable
Ukrainian and Russian grain exports to resume.
Tit-for-tat attacks by Russia and Ukraine on each other’s
ports and shipping have brought the countries’ Black Sea exports
to a near halt, prompting buyers to look for alternatives.
The Black Sea grain export disruptions led Asian wheat
importers to buy at least half a million metric tons of
Australian and Argentine wheat in recent deals, trade sources
said last week.
Market participants remain on edge over the risks of a
prolonged interruption to Russian and Ukrainian grain exports
from the Black Sea regions.
Soybeans have been supported by Chinese purchases of U.S.
soybeans and concerns over hot, dry weather in key U.S. growing
areas.
China’s soybean imports totalled 74.11 million metric tons
in the January-August period, up 1.1 per cent from 73.33 million tons a
year earlier, data from the country’s General Administration of
Customs showed on Tuesday.
Imports by the world’s largest soybean buyer fell 1.1 per cent in
August from a year earlier to 12.14 million tons, the data
showed.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said last week exporters
sold 192,000 tons of soybeans to China for delivery in the
2026/27 marketing year.
Expectations for poor yields in the U.S. Corn Belt have kept
a floor on corn futures. Grain markets are also turning their
attention towards monthly U.S. Department of Agriculture
supply-and-demand forecasts due this Friday.