Analysts said that U.S. corn and wheat futures both fell by more than 1% Wednesday as concerns about an escalation of military activity in the Black Sea grain-export region subsided.

Soybeans fell on the uncertainty surrounding Chinese demand for U.S. supply of the oilseed.

Chicago Board of Trade March Corn Futures ended up down 6 1/2 cents to $4.43-1/2 a bushel, and March Wheat finished down 2-3/4 Cents to $5.38-1/4. CBOT January soya beans finished at $11.15-3/4 per bushel, down 9 cents.

The previous day, corn and wheat prices had lost much of their gains. Brokers attributed this to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat to close Ukraine’s Black Sea access after drone attacks against vessels with Russian links.

After a five-hour Kremlin summit between President Donald Trump and his top envoys in the U.S., fears about a possible threat to grain exports seemed to have subsided by Wednesday, even though there was no agreement to end Ukraine's war.

"They don't give us any details but it appears that maybe Mr. Putin will not try to stop Ukraine shipping grain. Tom Fritz, an EFG Group partner in Chicago, said that he was "rattling his sword" yesterday.

The bearish mood was boosted by the abundance of global wheat supplies. This was aided by bumper harvests in Argentina and Australia.

European traders reported that Algeria's state grain agency purchased between 810,000 and 900,000.00 metric tons milling wheat at an international tender. Algeria's purchases have an optional origin. However, traders suspect that some of the wheat may be from the Black Sea or Argentina.

Soybean futures declined as traders monitored U.S. sales of soy to China. Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury secretary, told the New York Times DealBook Summit that China is on track to fulfill its obligations under a U.S. China trade agreement. This includes the purchase of 12,000,000 metric tons soybeans.

In a White House factsheet dated November 1, following Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, in South Korea it was stated that China would purchase the 12 million tonnes during the last two month of 2025.

Fritz said, "Mr. Bessent has just slammed the market for beans." "He dropped the fact that (China) doesn't have until end February to meet it." "We were always under impression that it would be by the end December," Fritz said. He added that Brazil is expected to begin harvesting a soybean crop projected to be the largest ever, which could dominate global trade.

According to a Tuesday shipping schedule, U.S. soybean shipments are increasing. At least six bulk cargo ships will load with the commodity at Gulf Coast terminals by mid-December.

(source: Reuters)