U.S. wheat futures sink to 14-week lows on Ukraine peace efforts

CBOT wheat futures fell to 14-week lows Wednesday following news that U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russia's President Putin in St. Petersburg to discuss a possible peace deal and President Trump increased pressure on Ukraine to strike a peace agreement with Russia.

U.S. wheat futures sank as much as 3.5% to the lowest since July 10, and wheat prices in both the U.S. and Europe have retreated for five straight days.

Grain traders are closely watching for any progress in settling Russia's war in Ukraine, and a ceasefire could potentially unlock large quantities of wheat from both countries—two of the world's largest producers—sending prices lower.

Ukraine's wheat exports were estimated at just 3.8M tons in the July-to-October period, down 39% Y/Y and the lowest for the period since 2011-12, according to the SovEcon consulting firm.

Hedge funds flipped to a net-bullish position on wheat in early September but have since steadily pared those bets, and bearish positions rose to a three-month high last week, Bloomberg reported.

Also, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported sales of 134K tons of soybeans to China for the 2026-27 marketing year, the latest of several Chinese purchases since July.

CBOT wheat (W_1:COM) for December delivery fell 2.3% to $6.28 1/4 per bushel on Wednesday, while soybeans (S_1:COM) for November delivery edged down 0.2% to $12.46 1/4 per bushel, and corn (C_1:COM) for December delivery rose 0.5% to $4.64 1/4 per bushel.