COM - Wheat rebounds on report Russia may pause exports; corn climbs on China deals

2023-03-24 17:45:02 ET

Chicago wheat futures surged Friday on short covering as well as market talk that Russia could halt wheat exports, while corn futures continued to climb following a flurry of Chinese purchases.

Russian business newspaper Vedomosti reported the government was considering a temporary halt in wheat and sunflower exports, while Reuters said later that Russia has no plans to halt wheat exports but wants exporters to ensure prices paid to farmers are high enough to cover average production costs.

CBOT wheat for May delivery ( W_1:COM ) closed +4.2% to $6.91 per bushel, breaking a four-session drop and bouncing off a 20-month low set on Wednesday , while May corn ( C_1:COM ) ended +2% to $6.44 3/4 per bushel and May soybeans ( S_1:COM ) settled +0.7% to $14.31 per bushel.

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

Export sales of U.S. corn to China totaled 2.24M metric tons in the week ended March 16, the third biggest weekly total on record, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Chinese buyers have since booked deals for another 832K tons of corn .

With Argentina's crop potential limited by a severe drought, traders told Reuters the U.S. will remain the dominant supplier for China until Brazil's second corn crop is harvested in June.

A deal to export Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea was renewed a week ago, but Russia and Ukraine differ over how long the extension will last .

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