Chicago wheat futures reached a new three-year high on Friday as the market continued to focus on the military escalation in the Black Sea that threatens to put a squeeze on Russian and Ukrainian exports.

Corn and soybeans reached new?multiyear highs. This was further supported by doubts about U.S. corn production and the surge in Chinese demand for U.S. beans.

At 10:20 AM CDT (1520 GMT), the most traded wheat contract was up by 25-1/2 cents to $7.86-1/4 per bushel. The price of wheat rose to $7.88 a bushel earlier this week, the highest since February 2023. It also surpassed previous three-year records. The report that Russia was considering increasing missile strikes against Ukraine this week dimmed the hopes for a quick recovery of Black Sea shipments. In recent weeks, tit-fortat attacks brought grain loadings to a virtual stop at Russian and Ukrainian port.

Jack Scoville is vice president at Price Futures Group. He said that Russia does not seem to be inclined to allow any exports. The news that a vessel was sunk in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania on Thursday night, probably after being struck, heightened concern about war risks for shipping in this area, traders said. Officials said that the planting campaign for 2027 in Ukraine is at risk due to the fact that farmers may not have the money to plant crops because of Russia's blockade on sea ports, which has severely curtailed exports. Farmers and analysts in Russia expressed their skepticism about the measures taken to maintain grain exports on Thursday. Some called for a reduction in the area of winter sowing to prevent a collapse in prices at home.

Some importers are turning towards countries in the European Union like Romania, France, and Poland.

After reaching a new peak of three years, CBOT corn climbed 3-3/4 cents to $5.37-1/4 per bushel. CBOT soybeans rose 16-1/4 cents, to $12.84-1/2 per bushel after reaching a new?2-1/2 year high.

According to estimates, U.S. corn production in 2026 will be well below government expectations due to the adverse summer weather.

The Chinese demand for American soybeans has boosted the price of soybeans. China's state-owned stockpiler?Sinograin completed its fifth auction of soybeans in less than one month on Wednesday. The goal was to free up storage space for incoming shipments from the United States. cargoes. A report from the U.S. Administration plans to protect farming from waivers of biofuel laws. Biofuels are often made from corn and soyoil.

(source: Reuters)