Wheat, Corn Hit Three-Year Highs as Food Inflation Risks Mount
Wheat and corn prices climbed to their highest levels in three years, with soybeans closing in on a two-and-a-half-year high, as disruptions to Black Sea grain exports, weather-driven concerns over the US corn crop, and surging Chinese demand for soybeans combine to squeeze global agricultural markets.
Wheat rose to $7.725 a bushel, up 10% on the week and 51% since the start of the year. Corn advanced to $5.4125 a bushel, gaining 6% weekly and 22% year-to-date. Soybeans climbed to $12.795, up 22% since January.
The rally underscores a tightening supply picture across staple grains, with Black Sea export disruptions curbing global wheat availability just as adverse weather conditions in the United States raise doubts over corn yields. Soybeans, meanwhile, are being driven higher by accelerating purchases from China, the world's largest importer.
The combined surge across all three crops threatens to push up costs across the food and livestock feed chains, adding to inflationary pressure in import-dependent economies already grappling with elevated commodity prices.
