Corn and wheat hit multi-week lows on U.S. export concerns

Chicago Board of Trade corn futures set a six-week low on Friday while wheat hit its lowest level in more than four weeks on concern over competition for global export business, analysts said. Technical selling helped fuel the sell-off, along with prospects for robust 2023 corn production in the United States and broader economic worries. On the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of major grains producer Ukraine, traders largely expect an extension of the Black Sea grain deal that facilitated the flow of Ukrainian crops to world buyers. Struck last year, the agreement has increased competition for suppliers of wheat and corn. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan about the deal on Friday. “The flow of cheap wheat out of the Black Sea region has been stiff competition for corn,” said Tomm Pfitzenmaier, analyst for Summit Commodity Brokerage in Iowa. The most active CBOT corn contract closed 10 cents lower at $6.49-1/4 per bushel and hit ...