Wheat, corn, sugar slide after Ukraine export deal eases supply worries

Wheat slid the most since May and corn prices tumbled to an eight-month low after a deal aimed at enabling shipments from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports was reached.

Russia and Ukraine together produce about 30 percent of the world’s wheat exports.

Ukraine and Russia signed parallel pacts with Turkey and the United Nations Friday. A deal to restart grain exports from Ukraine’s ports, which have been paralyzed by Russia’s invasion, would help ease grain costs and avert a global food crisis.

Millions of tons of grain are stuck in Ukraine after Russia’s invasion blocked its major ports. While a small volume has been rerouted by road and rail, customers in the Middle East and North Africa have been forced to look elsewhere, pushing up prices and worsening food insecurity.

Meanwhile, raw sugar extended its week’s rout to 7.1%, the biggest one-week slide since April 2020. Recent weakness in the currency of Brazil, the top supplier, has spurred growers to sell as harvests ramp up.

Gasoline futures are also down since reaching records in June.

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