GRAINS-Wheat climbs to one-week high ahead of Christmas break

BEIJING, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat gained more ground on Wednesday, with prices climbing to a one-week high on positioning ahead of the Christmas break, although ample supplies curbed the upside in prices.

Soybean and corn futures rose, having closed largely unchanged on Tuesday.

FUNDAMENTALS

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Wv1 rose 0.5% to $5.19-3/4 per bushel by 0108 GMT, after climbing to its highest since December 16 earlier in the session.

Soybeans Sv1 gained 0.3% to $10.66-3/4 a bushel and corn Cv1 gained 0.1% to $4.48 a bushel.

Wheat has rallied this week on positioning ahead of the year-end, when traders and investors typically cover positions.

There has been some additional support on concerns that escalation in the war in Ukraine could disrupt Black Sea exports.

Russian troops hit port and energy infrastructure in an overnight attack on Ukraine's Odesa region, causing a fire at a major port and disrupting electricity supplies to tens of thousands of people, a senior Ukrainian official said on Monday.

However, ample supply of Argentinian and Australian wheat has counteracted support from the ongoing Black Sea war.

In the soybean market, traders remain cautious about the pace of Chinese purchases of U.S. beans under a bilateral trade truce, while forecasters continued to project another record harvest in Brazil this season.

European Union soft wheat exports since the start of the 2025/26 season in July reached 10.80 million metric tons by December 21, down 2% from a year earlier, European Commission data showed on Tuesday.

MARKET NEWS

Major stock indexes advanced on Tuesday after stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data, while the yen gained on the dollar after Tokyo signaled its readiness to support the battered currency. MKTS/GLOB

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0500 Japan Leading Indicator Revised Oct

1330 US Initial Jobless Clm 20 Dec w/e