Chicago corn and wheat futures set fresh multi-year highs on Wednesday as falling expectations for U.S. corn yields and ongoing disruption to Black Sea grain exports maintained uncertainty over global availability.
Soybeans were steady as support from corn was tempered by a slide in crude oil, which pushed soyoil prices lower.
The most-traded corn contract on the CBOT was up 0.8% at $5.27-3/4 a bushel at 1130 GMT.
The benchmark earlier rose to $5.30, its highest since July 2023 and slightly above a previous three-year peak from Tuesday.
CBOT wheat was up 1.5% at $713-1/2 a bushel, after reaching its highest since May 2024 at $7.18 to surpass a prior two-year high from Monday.
The rally in corn has been fuelled by results from a widely followed Midwest field tour last week that projected this year's U.S. crop well below the U.S. Department of Agriculture's current forecast.
The USDA, meanwhile, on Monday estimated that U.S. corn crop conditions fell more sharply last week than anticipated by analysts.
"Corn prices (are) driven by the new deterioration in the crop's condition and the prospect of a decrease in yields," Argus analysts said, adding that a large planted area expected in Argentina could provide some supply relief.
In Argentina, a major corn exporter, the El Niño weather phenomenon should bring moisture even as pest risks and higher costs weigh on farmers' plans, the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange said on Tuesday.
However, a virtual halt to grain loadings at Russian and Ukrainian Black Sea ports, due to tit-for-tat attacks in recent weeks, was casting doubt over flows of Ukrainian corn and particularly Russian wheat.
Repair works at NKHP, one of three grain terminals at Russia's main Black Sea export port of Novorossiysk, could take up to four months, the company said on Wednesday.
The news underscored the risk of prolonged disruption, cooling hopes that diplomatic initiatives and Russian export measures, including a reported plan to scrap an export tax, would ease the situation.
"The situation in the Black Sea - in Russia and Ukraine - is not changing. The announcements on both sides confirm a blocked and complex situation for the flow of agricultural production at the beginning of the campaign," Argus said.
CBOT soybeans ticked up 0.3% to $12.37 a bushel.
Prices for soyoil, widely used in biodiesel fuel, slid 1.7%, tracking losses in crude oil as talks between Iran and Oman revived hopes that the Strait of Hormuz could reopen for shipping. [O/R]
Prices at 1130 GMT | |||
Last | Change | Pct Move | |
CBOT wheat | 713.50 | 10.25 | 1.46 |
CBOT corn | 527.75 | 4.25 | 0.81 |
CBOT soy | 1241.00 | 3.25 | 0.26 |
Paris wheat | 230.50 | 3.00 | 1.32 |
Paris maize | 261.25 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Paris rapeseed | 531.50 | -1.50 | -0.28 |
WTI crude oil | 80.15 | -2.21 | -2.68 |
Euro/dollar | 1.17 | 0.00 | -0.10 |
Most active contracts - Wheat, corn and soy U.S. cents/bushel, Paris futures in euros per metric ton |
(Reuters)