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Wheat futures near 20-month low
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Black Sea corridor and U.S, Europe rain ease supply
worries
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Corn, soybeans also lower
(Updates with European trading, changes byline/dateline)
By Gus Trompiz and Naveen Thukral
PARIS/SINGAPORE, March 22 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat
futures extended losses on Wednesday to approach a 20-month low
as the continuation of a wartime Black Sea export deal and
improved weather for U.S. and European crops created supply
pressure.
Corn and soybeans eased, with market attention turning to a
U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate decision later on Wednesday
in the wake of turmoil in the banking sector. The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade
(CBOT) ended the overnight session down 2.5% at $6.66-1/2
a bushel, near a 20-month low struck earlier in March.
CBOT corn and soybeans showed small losses.
"The market is bit relieved after the extension of the Black
Sea export deal," said Phin Ziebell, an agribusiness economist
at National Australia Bank. "The weather for wheat is more
accommodating in the United States."
The deal, allowing the safe export of grain from Ukrainian
and Russian Black Sea ports, was renewed on Saturday.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National
Agricultural Statistics Service in a weekly crop report on
Monday rated 19% of the winter wheat in top producer Kansas in
good to excellent condition, up from 17% the previous week.
Rain this month in western Europe has also eased dryness,
including in France.
Investors were not showing immediate concern about the
prospect of a sharp fall in Ukraine's 2023 grain harvest, and
signs of late weather damage to India's crop.
Grain markets were also digesting delayed data on positions
held by participants in CBOT futures for the week to March 14,
which showed large speculators increased their net short
position in corn.
(Reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in
Singapore; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Louise Heavens)
