Corn, wheat futures climb on Black Sea tensions, US weather

By Julie Ingwersen

CHICAGO, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Benchmark Chicago corn and wheat futures rose just over 1% on Tuesday, lifted by worries about tensions in the Black Sea export region as well as cold weather slowing grain movement in the U.S. Midwest, analysts said.

Soybean futures declined on a lack of supportive news and a retreat in soymeal futures, they said.

Chicago Board of Trade March corn CH26 settled up 5 cents at $4.50 per bushel and March wheat WH26 ended up 6 cents at $5.41 a bushel. CBOT January soybeans SF26 finished down 3-1/4 cents at $11.24-3/4 a bushel.

Traders were monitoring risks to Black Sea shipping from the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian drone strikes last week against two oil tankers bound for a Russian port were followed by a drone attack on Tuesday against a Russian-flagged vessel carrying sunflower oil. A Ukrainian official said Ukraine was not involved in Tuesday's attack, but Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to sever Ukraine's access to the sea.

"Commodity prices soared when Russia first invaded Ukraine nearly four years ago on fears that commodity shipments out of this major export region would be curtailed. The risk is that we may be seeing that threat emerge once again," StoneX chief commodity economist Arlan Suderman said in a client note.

Others noted firming U.S. cash markets after wintry weather slowed grain movement in the Corn Belt, where frigid temperatures followed heavy weekend snowfall in northern areas.

"Out here in the country, in order to buy grain from the farmer, you are seeing basis levels firm up. And the funds are short, so I think you are seeing a little short-covering as the cash market firms up," said Don Roose, president of Iowa-based U.S. Commodities. "It's the cold weather that has slowed movement. Call it a transportation premium," Roose added.

Soybean futures fell as traders continued to gauge Chinese demand for U.S. soy supplies. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported no new "flash" sales of U.S. soybeans on Tuesday, following a string of bookings confirmed last week.

"Soybean bulls will be looking for further U.S. export announcements to China to break higher out of the range-bound trade established in November," said Josh Lawrence, adviser at IKON Commodities in Sydney.

Brazil is expected to harvest its largest-ever soybean crop early in 2026, but traders are watching dry patches in southern production areas.