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By Gus Trompiz and Naveen Thukral
PARIS/SINGAPORE, Oct 18 (Reuters) – Chicago wheat futures slipped to a four-week low as investors saw some hopeful signs in ongoing talks to extend a wartime shipping lane for Ukrainian grain.
Corn and soybeans also eased as an advancing U.S. harvest created some supply pressure.
A firm U.S. dollar and weaker crude oil curbed grain futures as fears of an economic downturn stalked commodity markets.
The most active wheat contract Wv1 on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 1% at $8.52-3/4 a bushel after touching its lowest since Sept. 20.
December wheat BL2Z2, the most active contract on Paris-based Euronext, also hit a four-week low.
Wheat markets have been grappling with mixed indications over the United Nations-backed shipping corridor, which has allowed Ukraine’s exports to pick up despite the war with Russia.
Talks in Moscow between U.N. and Russian officials, described by U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric as “positive and constructive”, encouraged the view that the corridor deal could be extended.
“Attention on the wheat markets remains focused on the negotiations,” Commerzbank said in a note, adding that a price fall after the U.N. spokesman’s comments was a “foretaste” of what might happen if a deal is concluded.
However, traders say the Black Sea supply situation remains fraught, as illustrated by news that Russian drones hit sunflower oil tanks in the Ukrainian port of Mykolaiv.
Disruption to the Black Sea corridor could turn attention back to global supply risks, including drought in Argentine and U.S. wheat belts, as well as torrential rain in parts of Australia ahead of harvesting.
CBOT corn Cv1 was down 0.8% at $6.78 a bushel. Soybeans Sv1 eased 0.3% to $13.81 a bushel.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report on Monday showed that the corn harvest was 45% complete by mid-October, slightly below market forecasts but ahead of the five-year average.
The U.S. soybean harvest was 63% complete, above the five-year average of 52%.
Traders are also assessing U.S. export prospects, which have been complicated by a strong dollar and low water levels on the Mississippi river, a major route for transporting grain to U.S. Gulf export terminals.
Prices at 1144 GMT
Last
Change
Pct Move
End 2021
Ytd Pct Move
CBOT wheat Wv1
852.75
-8.25
-0.96
770.75
10.64
CBOT corn Cv1
678.00
-5.50
-0.80
593.25
14.29
CBOT soy Sv1
1381.00
-4.25
-0.31
1339.25
3.12
Paris wheat BL2c1
342.25
-4.00
-1.16
276.75
23.67
Paris maize EMAc1
329.25
-3.50
-1.05
226.00
45.69
Paris rape COMc1
613.00
-7.75
-1.25
754.00
-18.70
WTI crude oil CLc1
85.41
-0.05
-0.06
75.21
13.56
Euro/dlr EUR=
0.98
0.00
-0.07
1.1368
-13.52
Most active contracts – Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel, Paris futures in euros per tonne
(Reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore Editing by Uttaresh.V, Sherry Jacob-Phillips and David Goodman )
((gus.trompiz@thomsonreuters.com; +33 1 49 49 52 18; Reuters Messaging: gus.trompiz.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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