Wheat futures take breather as traders pull back from war-fueled rally (NYSEARCA:WEAT)

U.S. wheat futures fell the most in six weeks on Monday, as traders took profits after prices surged last week due to escalating hostilities in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Wheat prices jumped 5% to nearly $6 a bushel last week, hitting a record high. Ukraine said on Friday that a Russian missile had hit a grain ship in the Black Sea in more than two months.

“the The gathering is overrated. “It was based solely on fears of Black Sea supply disruptions,” Ole Hoie, chief executive officer of Icon Commodities, told Bloomberg.

Grain prices on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange also weighed on Monday after a weekend report from China’s Ministry of Agriculture showed the country’s hog herd fell 5.4 percent, according to a Dow Jones report.

“This suggests that demand for feed grains will decline as we will see fewer pigs born,” said Karl Setzer of Consus Ag Consulting, adding that slower Chinese demand growth also suggests demand for its grain exports may slow.

CBOT Wheat Contracts (W_1:COM) for December Delivery settled -2.8% to $5.78 a bushel after falling 3.5%, the biggest intraday drop since Aug. 5, while December corn (C_1:COM) futures closed at $5.78 a bushel. -0.7% To $4.10 1/2 a bushel, November soybean futures (S_1:COM) expired. -0.2% to $10.04 per bushel.

Exchange-traded funds:New York: Whit), (New York, North America: Corn), (New York, California: SOYB), (DBA), (MOO)

Argentina, the world’s largest exporter of processed soybean meal and oil, is set to head to US Soybeans Purchased for First Time Since 2019as the low prices in America make it the cheapest in the world.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Argentina has purchased 88,400 tons of beans for shipment this season, as a record crop begins to be harvested in the United States.

The National Oilseed Processors Association also reported that U.S. soybean crushing for August was 158 million bushels/acre, well below analysts’ expectations of more than 170 million bushels/acre, AgResource reported, according to Dow Jones.