Chicago wheat inched up on Wednesday, pausing after a 6% drop a day earlier as the market monitored diplomatic talks to unblock Ukrainian ports and awaited the outcome of a tender being held by top importer Egypt.

Corn eased to hold near an eight-week low after weekly U.S. crop data showed farmers largely caught up on planting after a slow start to the campaign. Soybeans edged higher. The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.5% at $10.92-1/2 a bushel by 1045 GMT.

It earlier eased to a new three-week low at $10.85-1/4, before turning slightly higher. Wheat markets were pressured earlier this week as comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders of other countries kept attention on the possibility of reopening Ukraine's Black Sea ports for grain shipments halted by Russia's invasion.

A senior representative of the United Nations, which is trying to broker an agreement to enable export of both Ukrainian grains and Russian food and fertiliser, had "constructive discussions" in Moscow, a U.N. spokesman said on Tuesday. The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., meanwhile, said Washington is prepared to give "comfort letters" to shipping and insurance companies to facilitate exports of Russian grain and fertiliser.

But traders remain cautious about a diplomatic breakthrough, notably because of Moscow's call for sanctions to be eased in return for the reopening of Ukrainian ports, a demand rejected by Kyiv and its Western allies. "The evolution of prices remains strongly dependent on progress on the geopolitical front and on flows from the Black Sea basin, with its share of uncertainties," consultancy Agritel said.

Following Tuesday's price slide, Egypt issued a tender seeking to import wheat for shipment in July and August. Traders are watching to see if there are offers of Russia and Ukrainian wheat given the war and related sanctions. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Tuesday that the condition of U.S. winter wheat improved slightly last week but was still among the lowest on record. CBOT corn eased 0.4% to $7.50-1/4 a bushel and soybeans added 0.2% to $16.86-3/4 a bushel. Corn planting was 86% complete, near the five-year average pace of 87%, while soybeans planting was 66% complete, behind the five-year average of 67%, the USDA said.

Prices at 1045 GMT Last Change Pct End Ytd Pct Move 2021 Move CBOT wheat 1092.50 5.00 0.46 770.75 41.75 CBOT corn 750.25 -3.25 -0.43 593.25 26.46 CBOT soy 1686.75 3.50 0.21 1339.25 25.95 Paris wheat 394.75 2.50 0.64 276.75 42.64 Paris maize 344.00 3.75 1.10 226.00 52.21 Paris rape 803.00 -8.75 -1.08 754.00 6.50 WTI crude oil 116.19 1.52 1.33 75.21 54.49 Euro/dlr 1.07 0.00 -0.18 1.1368 -5.75 Most active contracts - Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel, Paris futures in euros per tonne (Reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris, Hallie Gu and Dominique Patton in Beijing; Editing by Bernadette Baum)


Reuters