Wheat climbs back towards two-month peak on Black Sea tensions
Updates at 1131 GMT, adds Paris to dateline
PARIS/BEIJING, Sept 13 (Reuters) -Chicago wheat futures rose on Friday to hold near a two-month high as concern over escalation in Russia's war with Ukraine added to uncertainty about Black Sea export supplies.
Corn rose for a third session, brushing off an unexpected increase in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) yield forecast, while soybeans also firmed.
The most active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Wv1 was up 1.9% at $5.89-1/2 a bushel by 1131 GMT.
The contract had risen to a two-month peak of $5.91-3/4 on Thursday before closing marginally lower.
Ukraine accused Russia on Thursday of using strategic bombers to strike a civilian grain vessel in a missile attack in Black Sea waters near NATO member Romania. The Kremlin has declined to comment.
While market reaction to the incident was moderate, it heightened attention on rising tensions in the conflict, with the West accusing Iran of supplying missiles to Russia and Kyiv seeking approval to fire Western missiles at Russian territory.
"It was another reminder that there is a war going on in one of the global grain-supplying regions," said Andrey Sizov, head of Black Sea crop consultancy Sovecon.
Wheat markets have also been grappling with weather risks to Black Sea supply, with Russia's spring wheat crop facing rain damage while drought has been hampering winter wheat sowing in Russia and Ukraine.
Market momentum was tempered, however, by the USDA's increased global wheat stocks forecast in its monthly report on Thursday and low prices quoted this week for an Egyptian purchase of Russian wheat. WASDE13
CBOT corn Cv1 gained 0.9% to $4.09-3/4 a bushel while CBOT soybeans Sv1 rose by 0.4% to $10.15 a bushel.
The USDA raised its forecast for U.S. corn production and yields, wrongfooting traders who had expected a downward revision after dry weather.
"The U.S. corn yields number was a shock, but the market closed in the green after the initial sell-off," Sizov said, adding that short-covering by investment funds remained a support factor in grain markets.
Dry weather for planting in South America is also lending support to corn and soybean markets.
Soil moisture in the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Parana, two of the country's three largest soybean producers, is at its lowest in 30 years, according to the EarthDaily Agro company.
Weakness in the dollar .DXY, which hit a 2024 low on Friday as investors debated the size of an expected U.S. interest rate cut next week, and a steadying in crude oil LCOc1 also underpinned grain markets.
Prices at 1131 GMT | |||
Last | Change | Pct Move | |
CBOT wheat Wv1 | 589.50 | 11.00 | 1.90 |
CBOT corn Cv1 | 409.75 | 3.75 | 0.92 |
CBOT soy Sv1 | 1015.00 | 4.25 | 0.42 |
Paris wheat BL2U4 | 188.75 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Paris maize EMAc1 | 207.50 | 3.75 | 1.84 |
Paris rapeseed COMc1 | 465.75 | -0.50 | -0.11 |
WTI crude oil CLc1 | 69.75 | 0.78 | 1.13 |
Euro/dlr EUR= | 1.11 | 0.00 | 0.11 |
Most active contracts - Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel, Paris futures in euros per metric ton | |||
Reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Mei Mei Chu in Beijing
Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and David Goodman
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