Chicago wheat slips after 3-1/2-year peak as Black Sea tensions persist

Chicago wheat futures retreated on Wednesday, a day after surging to a 3-1/2-year high, as market participants weighed the ongoing disruptions to Black Sea grain exports stemming from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Corn and soybean contracts also declined in early trading.

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was down 0.8% at $7.76-1/2 per bushel. Corn slipped 1% to $5.40-3/4 a bushel, while soybeans fell 0.8% to $13.0-3/4 a bushel.

The previous session's rally was fueled by reports that Moscow had rejected a moratorium on attacks in the Black Sea and had struck port infrastructure in the region overnight. Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said on Wednesday that Moscow sees no grounds for resuming the Black Sea grain deal, as both sides continue to target each other's grain export facilities.

Ukrainian officials reported that Russia attacked port infrastructure and a border crossing with Romania in the southern Odessa region overnight. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the strike deliberately damaged the crossing point and export infrastructure.

Traders remain cautious over the risk of a prolonged interruption to grain exports from the Black Sea region. In response to Ukrainian drone attacks in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, Russian grain exporters are rerouting shipments to the Baltic Sea, according to traders and analysts.