28 January 2022

2 minute read

By: Melanie Epp

Chicago wheat prices nosed higher in quiet trade on Friday, while corn and soybeans held their ground close to the recent multi-month highs, reported Reuters.

The US dollar is headed for its best week in seven months as traders priced in US interest rate hikes in the coming months, creating a headwind for dollar-priced commodities.

* The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.5% at $7.80-1/2 a bushel, as of 0126 GMT. Soybeans dipped 0.4% to $14.42 1/2 a bushel and corn was steady at $6.24-3/4 a bushel.

* In the previous session, soybean futures rallied to a seven-month high on concerns about a smaller South American harvest, which could shift more global demand to the United States.

* The European Commission increased its forecast of European Union common wheat stocks at the end of the 2021/22 season as it revised up sharply expected imports on Thursday.

* Global market watchers remain on edge over Russia's demands that NATO withdraw troops and weapons from Eastern Europe. Russia said on Thursday it was clear the United States was not willing to address its main security concerns in their standoff over Ukraine, but both sides kept the door open to further dialogue.

* Interruptions to grain flows from the Black Sea region could leave importers scrambling for alternatives including European Union and US wheat, and fuel food inflation.

* Global commodities merchant Glencore Plc took a major step this week to becoming a greater force in the international food chain with a deal to buy the grains business of US-based Gavilon.

* Argentina is in the middle of a second straight La Nina climate pattern, which generally causes lower rainfall in central farming regions, though weather experts said its impact appeared to be weakening as the southern summer progresses.

MARKET NEWS

* US stocks retreated after a solid opening, while the dollar gained as investors prepared for future rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. All three major US stock indexes ended lower, having been whipsawed by uncertainty in recent days, marked by wide fluctuations and heightened volatility.