Attacks on Ukraine make the grain market nervous

The Black Sea region has a major influence on sentiment in the wheat market. Russia carried out targeted attacks last weekend to paralyze grain exports from Ukraine. In Russia, Ukraine's attacks also have major consequences for the economy. In addition to the war, drought is causing a more or less firm undertone in the market. That is playing out not only in parts of Europe, but also in the US, as this week's Crop Progress report shows. The September wheat contract on the Matif closed yesterday up €3 at €225.75 per tonne. On the CBoT, wheat closed 11¾ cent higher at $6.51 per bushel. Corn also moved higher with a gain of 8½ cent to $4.49¼ per bushel. The August soybean contract gave back a little, down 3¼ cent to $11.68¾ per bushel. Unrest in the Black Sea region continues to keep players in the wheat market especially busy. The Russian Ministry of Defense claims it carried out a successful attack on the port of Odessa last weekend. Fuel storage facilities were reportedly hit. The port of Mykolajiv was also attacked, where two tugboats, port infrastructure and two bulk carriers were hit. The attacks are aimed at bringing grain exports from Ukraine to a halt. Meanwhile, Russia is creaking and groaning under Ukrainian attacks mainly aimed at the oil industry. The availability of fuel in Russia is therefore problematic, several media report. The Russian economy is also suffering damage because exports have been largely brought to a standstill. Russian banks are facing liquidity problems, reports the Moscow Times, which is based in the Netherlands. That is what Taras Skvortsov, CFO of Sberbank, Russia's largest state bank, says at least. Banks now only have money to lend to customers, their core activity. Government bonds can be bought when there is free liquidity and one has confidence in them, especially if there is no significant premium. Nowadays, the situation is exactly the opposite, The Moscow Times quotes Skvortsov as saying. Trump spoke out about Iran. According to the US president, Iran is playing hardball, while they do not hold the cards for that. According to Trump, the negotiations must quickly lead to results. Otherwise, the US attacks on Iran will be resumed. The oil market is under somewhat of a strain due to developments in the Middle East. EthanolCorn, which has a link to the oil market through processing into ethanol, did not pick up much of that during the last trading session. In large parts of western and southern Europe it is hot and dry. There are therefore the necessary concerns about corn yields. In parts of the US it is also hot and dry. That is partly reflected in this week's Crop Progress report from the USDA. Of the corn acreage, 61% now gets the rating good or excellent, compared with 63% last week and 73% in the US this week last year. Soybean condition has remained unchanged at 63% good or excellent. The winter wheat harvest in the US is largely complete, with 86% of the acreage in the US harvested, according to the Crop Progress report. In the northern states of Montana and Idaho, the most still has to be done. There, 29% and 31% of the wheat has been harvested respectively. Threshing of spring wheat is still not really progressing. 5% of the acreage has been harvested, compared with 8% this week in the five-year average. Spring wheat is in relatively good shape, with 55% good or excellent compared with 53% last week and 48% this week last year.