Chicago Wheat Rises as Black Sea Exports Concerns Mount

The Chicago wheat market rose on Wednesday, while corn and soybean contracts closed lower. September soft red winter (SRW) wheat futures gained 0.59% to $235.96/mt, with hard red winter wheat futures in Kansas City also moving higher.

However, spring wheat futures in Minneapolis posted a slight decline. The market received support from concerns over grain exports from the Black Sea region amid escalating attacks on vessels and port infrastructure.

Algeria's purchase of 720 thsd tons of wheat in an international tender at around $289/mt C&F added to the upward pressure, as did Jordan's announcement of a new tender to buy 120 thsd tons of wheat. Market participants are now awaiting the USDA's weekly export sales report.

The USDA is expected to release data on U.S. new-crop wheat sales for the week ended July 30, which could influence the next direction of wheat prices. Analysts predict that U.S. new-crop wheat sales will range between 250 thsd and 450 thsd tons.