Chicago wheat falls after scaling 3-1/2-year high on Black Sea supply concerns

Chicago wheat futures sank on Wednesday, after surging to a 3-1/2-year peak the day before. This decline was due to concerns about potential disruptions to Black Sea grain exports stemming from ongoing conflicts. Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat was down 1.8% at $7.68-1/2 a bushel by 0302 GMT. CBOT corn and soybeans also dropped, with corn falling 1.7% to $5.37 a bushel and soybeans slipping 1% to $13.03-3/4 a bushel.

Wheat had surged to a 3-1/2-year high on Tuesday, fueled by reports that Russia had rejected a moratorium on Black Sea attacks and had struck port infrastructure in the area. Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister, Alexander Grushko, stated on Wednesday that Russia views no grounds for the Black Sea grain deal to resume, as both Russia and Ukraine continue to target each other's grain export facilities.

Prices had retreated after Turkey announced on Monday a plan for a safe grain passage through the Black Sea. Turkey has consistently shown its willingness to revive a UN-brokered deal that facilitated grain exports from Ukraine during wartime. Russia attacked Ukraine's port infrastructure and a Romanian border crossing in the southern Black Sea region of Odessa overnight, according to Ukrainian officials.

For corn, the US Department of Agriculture maintained its good-to-excellent rating for the American corn crop at 57% in a weekly report on Monday, down from 69% a year ago. This was attributed to drying crops before harvesting in the Midwest, with hot and dry weather expected in the coming week. For soybeans, uncertainty over US yield potential drove prices higher after the USDA lowered its condition rating for the nation's soybean crop on Monday.

Brazil's 2026/27 soybean crop is forecast to reach a record 183.5 million metric tons, according to brokerage and consultancy StoneX, raising its August forecast of 183.1 million tons.