Chicago wheat and corn prices fell on Thursday as fears of escalation of military activity in the Black Sea grain export area eased.

As of 0344 GMT the most active wheat contract on Chicago Board of Trade lost 0.05%, to $5.38 per bushel. Corn fell 0.17%, to $4.42-3/4 per bushel.

Despite the fact that no agreement on ending the Ukraine war was reached, fears of disruptions to Black Sea grain deliveries eased following a five-hour Kremlin summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin's envoys and Donald Trump's top officials.

Putin threatened to cut off Ukraine's Black Sea access following drone attacks against vessels with Russian links.

After three consecutive sessions of declines, soybean futures rose by 0.04%, to $11.16-1/4 per bushel. Traders were tracking the pace of Chinese purchases.

U.S. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent stated on Wednesday that China is poised to fulfill its obligations under a Sino - U.S. Trade Agreement, including the purchasing of 12,000,000 metric tons soybeans. The Treasury chief predicted the completion of the agreement by the end February 2026.

Beijing has yet to confirm either the volume purchased or the timeline. The White House said earlier that the same amount would be purchased by the end of the year - which is a much shorter timeframe.

The news is bad for the CBOT, because the U.S. market will be challenged by Brazil's new crop soybeans in the first quarter of next year. Non-China demand may shift to Brazil due to its lower prices.

The United States Department of Agriculture will release its weekly report on export sales later Thursday.

The U.S. exports of wheat for the week ending October 30 were estimated by traders to be between 250,000 and 650,000 tons, soybean exports at 600,000-2,000,000 tons, and corn at 800,000-2,500,000 tons.

(source: Reuters)