CHICAGO, July 31 (Reuters) – Chicago wheat fell on Friday but posted a monthly gain, the first such rise in three months, on mounting concerns over Black Sea supplies due to attacks by both Russia and Ukraine.
Technical trading drove wheat futures down and soybeans and corn followed, said Brian Splitt, partner at AgMarket.net.
Wheat prices jumped on Thursday on reports that Ukrainian drones had attacked the port of Taman in Russia, on the Kerch Strait linking the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
Shipowners, insurers and exporters may be increasingly reluctant to operate in the region, lifting freight costs and slowing the movement of grain, analysts said.
The end of the month is also causing liquidation, Splitt said.
Wheat ended down 24-1/4 cents at $6.39-1/4 a bushel, having surged to $6.86-1/2 a bushel in the previous session.
The corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade eased 4-1/2 cents to $4.64 a bushel.
Its most-active soybean contract was down 1-1/4 cents at $11.87-1/2 a bushel, falling for a third straight session as rain forecast in the U.S. Midwest near the end of the week – vital for the soybean crop as it reaches the pod-setting phase of its development – weighed on the contract.
Splitt said that in corn and soybeans, market players are also looking forward to August’s U.S. Department of Agriculture supply and demand report, when the agency traditionally provides updates on new crop yields. The European Commission on Thursday cut its forecast for usable production of most grain and oilseeds in the European Union in 2026/27, including an 8% output drop for soft wheat and a 14% production drop for grain maize compared to 2025/26. (Reporting by Renee Hickman in Chicago; Additional reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris and Bernadette Christina in Jakarta; Editing by Will Dunham)
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