Wheat rises 2% toward $7/bushel amid Black Sea shipment risk

Wheat rose 2% toward $7 per bushel on Wednesday, closing in on the two-year high of $7.08 reached on July 22, as intensifying Russia-Ukraine attacks threatened to further disrupt grain shipments from the Black Sea.

The worsening conflict has raised concerns over the ability of the two major wheat exporters to move their crops to global markets, particularly as the new harvest gathers pace.

Russia is expected to ship 46 million metric tons of wheat in the current marketing year, while Ukraine is projected to export 13.5 million tons, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

Adding to upward pressure on prices, US wheat export inspections fell to 425,668 metric tons in the week ended August 20, from 514,363 tons a week earlier and well below the 1.05 million tons inspected during the same week last year.

Meanwhile, the US spring wheat harvest was advancing rapidly, with 62% of the crop in the bin as of Sunday, compared with 41% a week earlier and above the five-year average of 52%.