Wheat Soars on Stalled Ukrainian Peace Talks

US peace efforts to end the war in Ukraine have yielded little progress, leading to a surge in wheat prices on Tuesday. Traders say that the US envoys' visit to Russia did not result in a peace breakthrough that would enable Ukrainian and Russian grain exports to resume.

The Black Sea region's grain export disruptions have prompted buyers to look for alternatives, with Asian wheat importers buying at least half a million metric tons of Australian and Argentine wheat in recent deals. Market participants remain on edge over the risks of a prolonged interruption to Russian and Ukrainian grain exports from the Black Sea regions.

Soybeans have been supported by Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans, with China's soybean imports totalling 74.11 million metric tons in the January-August period, up 1.1 per cent from 73.33 million tons a year earlier. Expectations for poor yields in the U.S. Corn Belt have kept a floor on corn futures.

The most-traded wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) jumped 3 per cent to $7.56-1/2 a bushel, while CBOT corn gained 0.7 per cent to $5.40-1/4 a bushel, and soybeans rose 0.2 per cent to $13.12 a bushel.