Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures rose on Friday after posting sharp declines in the previous two sessions as traders assessed the latest developments in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that has disrupted grain shipments.
Trading in wheat remained volatile as market participants wrestled with the possible extent of disruption of wheat from Ukraine and Russia and knock-on demand for other suppliers including the European Union and the U.S.
“A wave of panic from global end-users seems to have subsided a bit as the week has progressed, with some sourcing only the baseline amount of wheat they need, finding alternative origins, or pausing on buying altogether,” Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist at brokerage StoneX, said in a research note.
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Chicago Board of Trade May soft red winter wheat futures settled up 19-1/2 cents at $11.06-1/2 a bushel (all .
For the week CBOT May wheat fell 8.5 per cent. That follows a jump of 40.1 per cent the prior week and marks the biggest weekly decline for the most-active wheat contract since August 2016.
“The U.S. market is somewhat disappointed that more export sales have not been reported,” said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Read full story
Soybean futures were weaker, pressured by some much-needed rain in Argentina and Brazil that stabilized crop conditions as harvest neared.
Traders said that harvest reductions from a significant drought in South America had already been priced in to the market.
CBOT May soybeans were off 10-1/4 cents at $16.76 a bushel.
Corn futures rose on news of a fresh export deal and signs of strength in the U.S. cash market.
Private exporters reported the sale of 128,900 tonnes of corn to unknown destinations, the U.S. Agriculture Department said.
CBOT May corn settled up 6-3/4 cents at $7.62-1/2 a bushel.
— Reporting for Reuters by Mark Weinraub in Chicago; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.
