COM - Wheat futures surge on Black Sea supply concerns after missile strikes

Wheat futures surged more than 4% Monday on concerns over new threats to grain shipments from the Black Sea region after Ukraine's capital Kiev suffered its first strike in months from Russian missiles, apparent in retaliation for the weekend explosion on the bridge to Crimea.

Other Ukrainian cities also were attacked, including Odessa, a major hub for grain cargoes.

According to Reuters, most-active wheat futures ( W_1:COM ) on the Chicago Board of Trade recently +4.8% to $9.22 1/2 per bushel, while corn ( C_1:COM ) +1.5% to $6.94 per bushel on expectations of smaller crops in the U.S. and Europe, and soybeans ( S_1:COM ) +1.9% to $13.94 1/4 per bushel on hopes for more Chinese demand.

ETFs: ( NYSEARCA: WEAT ), ( CORN ), ( SOYB ), ( DBO ), ( MOO )

In better news for crop shipments , a logjam of more than 2,000 boats and barges is being cleared as two closures along the Mississippi River reopened Sunday.

Low water levels caused by a drought had stopped commercial shipments of commodities on the Mississippi in the middle of the fall harvest .

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