European market
It only took a few words uttered yesterday by Vladimir Putin at the Russian Far Eastern Economic forum in Vladivostok to trigger a very strong wave of profit-taking on wheat and, out of sympathy, on other products.
The Russian president declared that there is a chance of obtaining a peace agreement with Ukraine, while then specifying that the current attacks by Ukraine constitute an obstacle. Although such words of intention have already been pronounced many times since 2022 and although no signs of de-escalation appear on the ground, the grain market showed itself to be very affected yesterday, with Euronext December 2026 wheat down by €13.75/t at the session's low.
The bearish mood was supported by a rebound in the euro/dollar, from 1.1590 to 1.1630 after comments judged as accommodating by the Governor of the FED, Christopher Waller. In the current turmoil of currencies, the next meetings of the ECB on September 11 and the FED on September 15 and 16 will be followed very closely.
The return of buyer interest made it possible to reduce the magnitude of the decline as the Euronext closing approached. The decline in corn is less pronounced than in wheat due to the first echoes of very disappointing yields in France. Rapeseed meanwhile is closing close to equilibrium, with the support of crude oil that is still very firm in view of the escalation in Iran. European rapeseed also benefited from the good performance of Canadian canola, where harvest is slowed down by stormy weather.
On the international scene, the current call for tenders from Saudi Arabia for the purchase of 535,000 t of wheat in November-December remains one of the key elements of the week. And this at a time when the exporting countries of Europe, but also of the Southern hemisphere, are increasingly solicited to replace Russian and Ukrainian wheat blocked in their respective ports of the Black Sea.
American market
The strong bullish surge of recent days on all contracts on the Chicago market with a strong presence of funds for purchases and with the achievement of key resistance levels gave way yesterday to a sudden movement of profit-taking. Vladimir Putin's speech from the Russian East coast, interpreted as peaceful, immediately made the prices react during the night session on Chicago yesterday morning.
Wheat being the US product most sensitive to news related to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, witnessed the largest losses in session. The decline in corn remained more contained in a context of an anticipated downward revision for the upcoming US harvest.
The very hot and dry weather in the center of the United States also worries and supports the soybean market today. The soybeans also benefit from the support of crude oil but also from China's massive purchases which continue with a new exceptional sale of 192,000 t of US soybeans to China over the 2026-27 season.
The USD announced yesterday the following weekly export sales :
Wheat: 313.5 Mt on 2026-27
Corn: cancellations of 829,600 t in 2025-26 and sale of 1,986 Mt in 2026-27
Soybeans: cancellations of 94,200 t in 2025-26 and sale of 1,948 Mt in 2026-27.
Black Sea market
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