CANBERRA- Chicago wheat futures fell on Thursday as concerns over supply from war-torn Ukraine eased due to large exports of cheap grain from Russia, keeping prices near 33-month lows.
Soybean and corn futures rose slightly.
Wheat markets are expected to tighten in the coming months as the focus switches to harvests in southern hemisphere countries such as Argentina and Australia, where crops have been hit by dry weather.
But for the time being, northern hemisphere harvests, particularly Russia’s, are pumping supply into the market, said Ole Houe at Australian agricultural brokerage IKON Commodities.
“That puts a lid on prices and prevents any near-term rallies,” he said.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.8 percent at $5.92-3/4 a bushel. On Friday, prices fell to $5,70 a bushel, the lowest since December 2020.
CBOT soybeans were up 0.1 percent at $13.50-1/2 a bushel and corn was 0.1 percent down at $4.81-3/4 a bushel.
Ukrainian grain exports plunged to 783,000 metric tons between Sept. 1 and Sept. 13 from around 1.5 million tons in the corresponding period in 2022, agriculture ministry data showed on Wednesday.
