Chicago soft red winter wheat December futures briefly broke through the 700c/bu barrier overnight before retreating to close at 697.5c/bu. Volume in the December slot was good, 87,440 contracts, resulting in open interest of 243,592 contracts (33.12mt). Not bad considering US all wheat production, HRWW, SRWW, spring wheat, white wheat and durum wheat, is estimated at 41.66mt.
Hard red winter wheat was strong, breaking through the 800c/bu mark in the December 2027 contract, and closing on the that number.

The move in US wheat futures is basically ongoing concern over the escalation of attacks on commercial shipping and port facilities in the Black Sea. The punters are predicting the instability will result in higher demand for US wheat in time.
Currently the big winners are likely to be the Black Sea states south of Ukraine. Particularly Romania and Bulgari. Romania have had a cracking year, producing around 13.5mt of wheat, a record is expected according to some analyst. This is also interesting as Constanta is the major export hub for Romanian wheat. It is also the port where Ukraine is trying to direct its wheat exports through since the attacks on Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea. Increased Romanian production is making it harder for Ukraine to secure port access, but Romanian producers are complaining about Ukraine booking out rail lines from the NE. So everything is doable at a price apparently.
This is also seeing port costs increase on the additional demand, combined with the low water level of the Danube, barge weight is being reduced. The result is an increase of around US$6.00/t on last weeks FOB value for 12% milling wheat, now valued at close to US$260 FOB. Currently the port is running at about 80% capacity. The upcountry logistics are the issue, not the port capacity, for now. For the N.African and M.E consumer this is the perfect storm for higher prices. Luckily for many, it also comes at a time when their domestic season were good. This may limit short term demand and price spikes.