Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat futures hit their daily trading limit on the downside for the second straight day on Wednesday, as the U.S. government cut domestic wheat exports and global markets continue to be roiled by supply disruptions stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Soybean futures turned lower after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecast domestic and world soybean supplies will be smaller than previously thought — but still came in above the average of market forecasts.
Corn futures slid to session lows as oil markets dropped sharply, as USDA raised its outlook for U.S. corn exports while Russia’s invasion has halted shipments from the key global supplier.
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U.S. wheat futures closed higher on Thursday on concerns over the limited availability of supplies for export in Russia, analysts said.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) settled the day down 85 cents at $12.01-1/2 a bushel (all figures US$).
The contract had closed limit-down before the release of USDA’s monthly world agricultural supply and demand estimates (WASDE), as investment fund flows and investor adjustments were contributing to the pullback in an extremely volatile wheat market, traders said.
Traders said the market mostly shrugged off the WASDE report, in part because the report contained no major surprises. Instead, the market is just starting to look ahead at any hurdles that may come for the planting of the U.S. grain and oilseed crops this spring.
“Now the market is going to look ahead to the planting intentions report,” said Dan O’Bryan, risk management specialist and broker at Top Third Ag Marketing. “As far as U.S. production, that’s going to be the real story.”
CBOT corn settled down 20 cents at $7.33 a bushel, while soybeans closed down 18 cents, to $16.71-3/4 a bushel.
Meanwhile, a global food crisis continues to escalate, as merchants and importers are seeking alternatives to Ukrainian and Russian supplies, with European Union grain in particular demand. Argentina’s corn exporters have held talks over selling their crop to Spain, with expectations that the European country will ease import rules.
— Reporting for Reuters by P.J. Huffstutter in Chicago; additional reporting by Mark Weinraub and Chris Walljasper in Chicago, Gus Trompiz in Paris, Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Emily Chow in Beijing.
