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Black Sea uncertainty boosts wheat market

A market analyst says wheat futures started the week with a surge.

Greg McBride, director of brokerage for Allendale, says that’s due to escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

“Russian airstrikes are targeting port infrastructure around Ukraine’s Odessa Region,” he said. “You’ve got Russia continuing to pledge to have bigger strikes on Kyiv. They are actually asking foreign diplomats to leave the city.”

He says the war has been ongoing since early 2022.

“The situation continues to be one of those where it cools down and then it ramps right back up,” McBride said. “We’ve seen about five weeks straight now of the wheat market backing off after the furious rally that they had when this thing really got going again.”

March Chicago wheat started the week just over $7 per bushel and March hard red winter wheat was above $7.55. McBride tells Brownfield, “It can lead to short-term pops in the market. More specifically to the wheat side of things. The corn would follow a little bit. That is more of a grain-grown region and not as much on the oilseed side of things.”

McBride says export issues in the Black Sea Region could continue into 2027.

Greg McBride: