Wheat futures climbed 2% toward $7 per bushel on Wednesday, nearing the two-year high of $7.08 set on July 22, as escalating Russia-Ukraine hostilities threatened to further disrupt grain shipments from the Black Sea. The intensifying conflict has heightened worries about the capacity of two of the world’s largest wheat exporters to move their crops to international markets, just as the new harvest accelerates.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, Russia is expected to export 46 million metric tons of wheat in the current marketing year, while Ukraine’s wheat exports are projected at 13.5 million tons. Prices also drew support from weaker US export data: wheat export inspections fell to 425,668 metric tons in the week ended August 20, down from 514,363 tons the prior week and sharply below the 1.05 million tons inspected in the same week a year earlier.
At the same time, the US spring wheat harvest is progressing quickly. As of Sunday, 62% of the crop had been harvested, up from 41% a week earlier and ahead of the five-year average of 52%.
