European wheat prices jumped 7% on Wednesday as escalating Black Sea attacks raised concerns over key grain export routes, with traders expecting some demand to shift to European Union supplies.
Benchmark September milling wheat on Paris-based Euronext, ended the daytime trading session 7% higher at €231.75 ($265) a metric ton, a price not seen since February last year.
Chicago wheat was up 5.6% by the same time while Kansas hard red winter wheat futures hit the 45-cent daily limit.
It gained more than 13% since the end of last week when rumors about a possible closure of the Sea of Azov to shipping sparked concern about disruption to exports from Russia, the world's biggest wheat supplier.
Meanwhile, Russia in recent days has stepped up attacks on Ukraine's deepwater Black Sea ports in the Greater Odesa area, which handle much of the country's grain and other cargo and are vital to its wartime economy.
Ukraine has lost about a third of its capacity to export grain via its vital Black Sea ports due to intensifying Russian missile and drone attacks, the country's main farmers' union said.
"Euronext wheat is rallying on escalating Black Sea risk, with vessels now increasingly at the center of the conflict. Ukraine has been targeting mainly oil tankers, while Russia is now reported to be hitting cargo vessels leaving Ukrainian ports," CM Navigator analyst Donatas Jankauskas said.
"The key issue is not only actual lost Ukrainian exports, but the risk that buyers may need to shift demand toward EU or other origins if Black Sea flows become less reliable," he added.
Brokers say shipowners are refusing to enter Ukrainian ports because of sharply increased war risks, while traders have suspended purchases.
Ukraine said will do everything possible to protect its seaports and guarantee grain exports at no less than last season's level, its deputy economy minister, Taras Vysotskiy, told Reuters on Wednesday.
Before the recent attacks, Ukraine forecast exports at around 43 million metric tons in the 2026/27 season, which started in July. Last year it exported more than 37 million tons.
An industry source told Reuters on Wednesday that four of Ukraine's 13 large grain export terminals had suspended grain purchases due to attacks.
Another source said some shipowners were refusing to enter Ukrainian ports due to fears of attacks.
The rally on euronext was amplified by short covering on fears that the area could be blocked for several weeks, a French trader said.
Meanwhile, the heatwave continued in west Europe. The French harvest, which has suffered from the heat, is seen falling 4% and there is also talk the German harvest may have lost over 600,000 to 1 million tons in volume.
German wheat harvesting is now starting.
($1 = 0.8744 euros)
($1 = 0.8745 euros)
(Reuters)
