Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat futures gained on Thursday after reaching two-month lows as liquidation by investment funds abated and supply tensions remained despite talks to reopen Ukrainian ports that have been blocked since Russia’s invasion.
A large wheat purchase by Egypt and a report that the U.S. government may retroactively raise an ethanol blending mandate lent support to cereal markets.
Soybeans firmed, underpinned by export demand and tight U.S. supplies.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) firmed 17 cents, to $10.58-1/4 a bushel, after falling to the lowest since early April on Wednesday (all figures US$).
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CBOT old-crop July corn eased 22-1/4 cents at $7.31-1/4 a bushel. New-crop December corn futures added 2-3/4 cents, to $6.94-1/4 a bushel.
Soybeans added 39 cents, to $17.29-1/4 a bushel.
Wheat futures found technical resistance after a two-day pullback earlier in the week, fuelled by diplomatic efforts to create a Black Sea shipping channel for Ukrainian grain.
“It’s just a corrective action,” said Tom Fritz, commodity broker at EFG Group. “We still have the unknown around Ukraine shipments, but look at the price action. We still have some pretty big-time volatility here.”
Analysts are cautious about the likelihood of a deal over Ukrainian ports while fighting continues in Ukraine and as Moscow seeks sanctions concessions rejected by Kyiv and its Western allies.
India has allowed 469,202 tonnes of wheat shipments since banning most exports last month, but at least 1.7 million tonnes is lying at ports and could be damaged by looming monsoon rains, government and industry officials told Reuters.
Soybeans climbed, supported by export demand amid tight supplies, with U.S. exporters selling 352,000 tonnes of the oilseed for delivery to Pakistan.
“They’re not a usual big buyer for us,” said Ted Seifried, vice president of Zaner Group. “The tightness in that old crop soybean balance sheet is what’s keeping the July soybeans in particular propped up.”
— Reporting for Reuters by Christopher Walljasper; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris, Hallie Gu and Dominique Patton.
