Wheat futures gained for the fifth consecutive session on Wednesday, as the market remained supported by continued uncertainty over the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Talks aimed at renewing the Black Sea deal are still ongoing ahead of the current deal’s expiry later this week, but Russia has thrown a wrench into things by insisting on a 60-day extension. Ukraine instead wants the deal extended for 120 days. Both Russia and Ukraine are major global exporters of wheat. May Chicago wheat was up 6 ½ cents to $7.02 ¾, May Kansas City added 2 cents to $8.19 ¾, and May Minneapolis gained 2 ½ cents to $8.52 ½.
Corn ended mixed. The Black Sea uncertainty provided some support to the nearby contract, as did the USDA announcement this morning of another export sale of 667,000 tonnes of corn to China for 2022-23 delivery. May corn was up 5 ¾ cents to $6.26 ½, and December was down 2 ¼ cents at $5.57.
Soybeans were lower, pressured by losses in crude oil and declining economic sentiment after Credit Suisse's largest investor said it could not provide the bank with more financial assistance. May beans fell 4 ½ cents to $14.89 ¼, and November lost 13 ¾ cents to $13.24 ¾.
