HAMBURG, Germany, July 24 (Reuters): Chicago wheat and corn rose on Monday on fears about intensifying fighting in Ukraine involving Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports and grain infrastructure, including the first attack on Danube River grain warehouses.
Traders were concerned the fighting could threatened Black Sea grain shipments, while hopes were fading for a quick re-start of the safe shipping corridor for Ukraine's grain exports which ended last week.
In a new development, Russia destroyed Ukrainian grain warehouses on the Danube in a drone attack on Monday, expanding the target area of its air campaign and raising possible threats to Ukraine's huge overland and river grain exports via the European Union.
"Last night for the first time during the war Moscow attacked the Danube terminals," said Russian grains analyst Andrey Sizov on Twitter. "In our view, it's a bigger event than attacks on Odesa which could be expected. The Danube currently is the most important export route for Ukrainian grain," Sizov said.
Chicago Board of Trade most-active wheat rose rose 5.7 per cent to $7.37-1/2 a bushel at 0951 GMT, while European Euronext wheat rose 5.8 per cent.
Corn rose 4.6 per cent to $5.61-1/4 a bushel and soybeans rose 1.3 per cent to $14.20-1/2 a bushel.
Russia has been pounding Ukrainian food-exporting ports almost daily, with another attack on Sunday on Ukraine's grain export port of Odesa.
"Geopolitical news is supporting (prices) today, with the Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports and signs the conflict in Ukraine is intensifying," said Matt Ammermann, StoneX commodity risk manager.
"Last week, the market was initially pretty calm after Ukraine's safe shipping agreement for grain exports ended, with a focus on large supplies from Russia and big Ukrainian exports via the EU."
"But the repeated attacks on Ukrainian ports are something the market does not like. There is concern the Ukrainian war could be entering a new phase with possibly more attacks on ports and shipping by both sides."
Dry weather in the US is also supporting prices, while concern about dryness in US grain belts stressing crops also pushed up corn and soybeans. "Midwest weather forecasts are generally dry up to Friday with raised concern about crop stress," Ammermann added.
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