Wheat jumped 8.5%, corn and soybeans also rose on Wednesday

On Wednesday, July 19, 2023, US wheat futures rose on reports that the Russian Defense Ministry has declared a number of sea areas in the international waters of the Black Sea temporarily dangerous for shipping. As a result of the trading day, September quotations of soft winter wheat on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange CBOT rose to $267.40 per ton, September futures of hard winter wheat KCBT in Kansas City - up to $318.47 per ton, September futures of hard spring wheat MGEX fell to $329, 68 per ton.

US wheat futures jumped 8.5% on Wednesday. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange's benchmark contract for soft red winter wheat briefly touched the daily trading limit and hit a high in more than three weeks as Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday accused Western countries of violating a delinquent Black Sea grain deal that allowed grain to be exported from Ukraine. Russia will consider returning to the grain deal only if all obstacles to the country are removed and restrictions on Russian assets are lifted, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. All barriers to Russian banks that service food and fertilizer supplies must be removed.

Corn and soybean futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange also rose, with soybeans rising for the fifth straight day and hit their highest level in more than a month as forecasts of hot, dry weather raised fears of plant stress in the US Midwest.

Russia warned that from Thursday, any ships going to Ukraine's Black Sea ports would be considered as potentially carrying military cargo. Kiev admitted that without a grain deal, not a single cargo ship would enter the ports of Ukraine.

September CBOT soft red winter wheat futures rose 57 cents to $7.27-3/4 a bushel. December CBOT corn rose 18.1/2 cents to $5.53 a bushel, the highest since June 27. November CBOT soybean futures rose 13.1/2 cents to $14.08-3/4 a bushel, the highest level since June.

Traders said the weather forecast raises the likelihood of a decline in both soybean and corn crops in the US.

On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CBOT) on Wednesday, contracts for delivery in September, November, December:

wheat (September 2023) - 267.40 USD/t (24250 RUB/t) - plus 8.50%;
corn (DKBR 2023) - $217.72/t (19750 RUB/t) - plus 3.46%;
soybeans (nbr. 2023) - 517.62 USD/t (46940 RUB/t) - plus 0.97%;
Rice raw (September 2023) - 766.54 USD/t (69520 RUB/t) - plus 0.45%;
rapeseed (ICE, Nov. 2023) - 841.70 cad/t (57890 RUB/t) - plus 1.00%.

On Wednesday, the French grain market rose. As a result of the trading day, the September quotes of milling wheat on the Parisian MATIF exchange rose to €253.75 per ton (in dollar terms - up to $284.15). November corn futures rose to €242.50 per ton (in dollar terms, rose to $271.55).

On the Paris Stock Exchange (MATIF) on Wednesday, the quotes for the August and September contracts at the close of trading amounted to:

milling wheat (Sept. 2023) - 284.15 USD/t (25770 RUB/t) - plus 7.94%;
corn (NBR 2023) - 271.55 USD/t (24630 RUB/t) - plus 4.72%;
sunflower (July on the SAFEX exchange - 9336 zar. / t (47170 rubles / t) - plus 1.70%;
sunflower oil. (July, over-the-counter index NTB SOEXP) - 814.67 dollars per ton (73880 rubles per ton) - minus 0.9339%.