France's farm ministry forecast the country's 2026 soft wheat production at 32.0 million metric tons, down 4% from last year. Crop conditions deteriorated at the end of the growing cycle after successive heat waves, the ministry said.
Ahead of Thursday's weekly export sales report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, analysts expected the government to report net export sales of U.S. wheat in the week ended July 9 at 250,000 to 600,000 metric tons.
Wheat contracts close sharply higher
CBOT September soft red winter wheat WU26 settled up 32-1/2 cents, or 5%, at $6.77-1/2 per bushel after reaching $6.82-3/4, the contract's highest since May 20.
K.C. September hard red winter wheat KWU26 ended up 42 cents at $7.20 a bushel after rising by the daily 45-cent limit at times to $7.23, the contract's highest since May 19.
Minneapolis September spring wheat MWEU26 rose 25-1/4 cents to finish at $6.83-1/4 a bushel.
Managed commodity funds hold a large net short position in CBOT wheat futures, leaving the market vulnerable to short-covering rallies.
Wheat futures surge on Black Sea trade route risks
CHICAGO, July 15 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures surged 5% on Wednesday as Russia and Ukraine stepped up their battle over the Black Sea and key trade routes, traders said.
Moscow killed three people in an attack on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, and Kyiv's drone forces struck Russian shipping.
Ukraine has lost about a third of its capacity to export grain via its vital Black Sea ports due to intensifying Russian missile and drone attacks, the country's main farmers' union said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian drone attacks have forced Russia, the world's top grain exporter, to restrict shipping in the Sea of Azov, a route that handles about a quarter of its grain exports, sources told Reuters.
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