Wheat futures rose on a possible breakdown of the Istanbul Agreements

Wheat futures rose after reports that russia is ready to withdraw from the grain agreement.

Wheat for December delivery (as of Oct. 13) rose 1% to $8.97 a bushel on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. According to The Wall Street Journal, this happened in response to reports that russia will not renew the agreement on the export of grain from the Black Sea until its “demands” are considered by the UN.

At the same time, corn for delivery in December rose 0.7% to $6.98 per bushel. Soybeans for November delivery fell 0.1% to $13.96 a bushel.

“Grain traders are wary of the prospect of renewing the deal due to concerns that russia could use the deal as a weapon to allow grain shipments, just as it shut down the flow of natural gas through the Nord Stream pipeline,” the WSJ wrote.

As USM wrote earlier, the list of claims that russia has made to the UN is currently unknown. However, it is obvious that russian federation is trying to sabotage the continuation of the agreement in any way possible — in particular, it is inventing sanctions that do not exist.

So, for example, russian exports of grain or fertilizers do not suffer from Western sanctions in any way, because they do not fall under them. Only self-sanctions work: companies voluntarily refuse to cooperate with a terrorist country, due to which Russia could potentially feel a decrease in the volume of grain exports.

However, russian federation has a “compensation” scheme: it quite effectively steals grain from the occupied territories of Ukraine and earns hundreds of millions of dollars from it. Therefore, “claims” to the operation of the grain corridor are another act of groundless blackmail and an attempt to “drive” Ukraine and its allies into an economic crisis.

The USM also reported earlier that more than 150 vessels are already waiting in line for an inspection off the coast of Turkey; but the UN does not see russia’s fault in the delays.