Wheat Futures Jump With War in Focus — Daily Grain Highlights

By Kirk Maltais

-Wheat for December delivery rose 3.1% to $6.89 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Friday as Ukraine and Russia continued to trade blows, spurring traders to add risk premium to wheat futures.

-Corn for December delivery rose 2.5% to $4.83 3/4 a bushel.

-Soybeans for November delivery rose 0.8% to 11.91 1/4 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Added Back In: Ongoing military action between Russia and Ukraine was the central focus for CBOT grain futures. "I think the strength we are seeing in corn and wheat has a lot to do with what's going on overseas, which has been a growing theme over the last several weeks," said Oliver Sloup of Blue Line Futures. He adds that the back-and-forth may be spurring short-covering in grains, as opposed to fresh buying.

Endless War: Fighting in the Black Sea drove fears of a constricted world supply. "As long as the mutual attacks continue, wheat prices are likely to keep rising," said Commerzbank in a note. "This is because Russia and Ukraine together account for more than a quarter of global wheat exports." Attacks this week have hit major grain ports, while the USDA revised its outlook for U.S. wheat production down in its WASDE report.

INSIGHT

Better Balance: With grain futures on the rise, U.S. farmers are becoming more comfortable with prospects for crop budgets. "Things are looking up in the grain market," said Brady Huck of EmpowerAg Trading, noting that an improvement in new crop exports in this week's WASDE bodes well for improved crop prices, as does the potential for lower yields by the end of the crop-growing season. "Ideas that USDA could continue to lower their corn yield could further tighten the balance sheet," said Huck. This past spring, prices were too low for many farmers to field profitable acreage.

Hitting the Road: Next week's Midwest Crop Tour by Pro Farmer will see crop scouts surveying corn and soybean fields across seven states to gauge how crops have handled a hot July and a considerably wetter August. Analysts will be looking for the commentary from the tour, especially when it comes to observations about corn. "If the Pro Farmer crop tour next week finds significant issues in the western belt, buyers may quickly return on the assumption ending stocks could fall even further next month," said the Hightower Report in a note.

Elongated Streak: The USDA confirmed another flash sale of U.S. soybeans to China, with 136,000 metric tons sold for delivery in the 2026/27 marketing year. That's the fourth straight day the government reported a new flash sale of soybeans to China and the seventh day since the start of the month. The influx of export demand is supportive for futures, although farmers are still seen having sizable crops growing in their fields. "The rains that we've seen over the past couple weeks will likely push national yield ideas higher, which is the main bearish input for beans right now," said Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives in a note.

AHEAD

-The first day of the Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour begins Monday.

-The USDA will release its weekly Grain Export Inspections report at 11 a.m. ET Monday.

-The USDA will release its weekly Crop Progress report at 4 p.m. ET Monday.

Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 14, 2026 15:20 ET (19:20 GMT)