GRAINS — Wheat extends drop as traders monitor prospects for Black Sea exports
(Updates prices, adds details throughout) BEIJING, Sept 23 (Reuters) — Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures dropped for a third straight session on Wednesday, past a four-week low, as traders monitor prospects for diplomatic efforts that could ease Black Sea export disruptions. Corn and soybeans gained. The most-traded wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.3% at $7.06-1/2 a bushel by 0238 GMT. CBOT corn gained 0.1% to $5.29-3/4 a bushel, while soybeans rose 0.2% to $13.20-3/4 a bushel. Renewed diplomatic efforts to end the Ukraine war kept attention on the outlook for Black Sea agricultural exports. Ukraine and Russia, both major grain suppliers, have voiced an interest in a limited ceasefire involving grain and energy-related targets, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York. Traders hoped a truce could lead to a recovery in cargo movements that are at a near standstill in the Black Sea due to heavy attacks on ships and port infrastructure by both sides. Top wheat importers in Asia, the Middle East and Africa that count on the Black Sea region for grain have been finding it hard to secure suppl
(Updates prices, adds details throughout) BEIJING, Sept 23 (Reuters) — Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures dropped for a third straight session on Wednesday, past a four-week low, as traders monitor prospects for diplomatic efforts that could ease Black Sea export disruptions. Corn and soybeans gained. 06-1/2 a bushel by 0238 GMT. 20-3/4 a bushel.
Renewed diplomatic efforts to end the Ukraine war kept attention on the outlook for Black Sea agricultural exports. Ukraine and Russia, both major grain suppliers, have voiced an interest in a limited ceasefire involving grain and energy-related targets, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York. Traders hoped a truce could lead to a recovery in cargo movements that are at a near standstill in the Black Sea due to heavy attacks on ships and port infrastructure by both sides.
Top wheat importers in Asia, the Middle East and Africa that count on the Black Sea region for grain have been finding it hard to secure supplies. However, continued attacks on ports and vessels tempered expectations of a recovery in grain shipments. Only eight countries bought wheat from Russia, the world's biggest wheat exporter, in September, down from 26 a year earlier, data from the Russian Grain Union lobby group showed on Wednesday. The number of buyers in August fell to 16 from 43 in the same month last year.
Ukraine's agriculture ministry said on Wednesday that the country is exploring the use of Baltic Sea ports for grain exports following a similar move by Russia as both sides seek alternatives to Black Sea routes disrupted by their war. Sources have told Reuters that Russian companies are repurposing fertiliser, coal, and other cargo terminals at the country's Baltic and Arctic ports to handle grain exports after Ukrainian drone attacks disrupted shipments through the Black Sea. com;)