Chicago wheat futures extended losses back to the lowest since before Russia invaded Ukraine in February, capping its worst week in a decade with surging shipments of agricultural goods in Crimea underscoring how grain is still entering world markets despite the war.
Shipments of food out of Russian-occupied Crimea were 50 times normal for this time of year, likely signaling that stolen Ukraine supplies are moving on to importing countries. The news comes as negotiators were seeking a solution to resume Ukrainian shipments at Black Sea ports.
Futures slumped as much as 3.7%, briefly wiping out all of the gains from 2022, before trimming losses and settling 1.8% lower at $7.81 a bushel. That’s well off the record of almost $13 notched up in the weeks after the invasion and marks the biggest one-week drop since March 2011.
