Chicago wheat falls on Monday, while corn and soybeans hold firm

Chicago wheat futures declined on Monday, August 31, after reaching three-year highs late last week. The most-active CBOT contract settled at $7.74 per bushel, down 10 cents. Prices came under pressure after Turkey said it had prepared a plan for the safe passage of grain through the Black Sea and was in talks with Ukraine and Russia.

Wheat rallied sharply last week amid concerns over a further escalation of the war and risks to Black Sea exports. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara was in contact with both sides and was working toward a possible new agreement similar to the previous Black Sea grain deal. After the strong rally, the comments prompted some profit-taking.

Corn futures also retreated from an intraday high but still ended the session higher. The most-active contract settled at $5.3775 per bushel, up 1.25 cents, after earlier reaching $5.42 per bushel — the highest level since summer 2023. Expectations of lower US corn yields continued to support prices.

Soybean futures also reached a new contract high of $12.945 per bushel during the session before settling unchanged at $12.88 per bushel. Prices were supported by strong export demand for US soybeans and higher crude oil prices, as soybean oil is widely used as a biofuel feedstock.

European markets also moved lower on Monday. On Euronext Paris, December wheat futures fell 2.87% to €245.25/t ($284.07/t), while November corn declined 1.14% to €269.75/t ($312.45/t). September wheat fell to €237/t ($274.52/t), while March corn settled at €263.75/t ($305.50/t).

Tags: futures, Chicago, global market, corn, prices, soybean, wheat