Cereals thrive in Chicago on concerns over US war and biofuels

By Julie Inversion

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The U.S.’s corn, wheat and soybean futures rose on Tuesday on the back of a protracted Russia-Ukraine conflict and a disruption in Black Sea grain exports and rising demand for U.S. biofuels, analysts said on Tuesday.

The White House has announced that US President Joe Biden will present plans to extend the availability of more biofuel compounds in gasoline to curb rising fuel prices over the summer. Corn is the main source of ethanol in the country.

On the Chicago Board of Trade, May Grain Futures rose 11.75 cents to $ 7.7625 a bushel, hitting $ 7.79, its highest level since March 7.

May wheat rose 22.50 cents to $ 11.0375 a bushel and May soybeans 15 cents to $ 16.7025 a bushel.

Maize planting begins slowly in the US Midwest.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Monday planted 2% of the U.S. maize crop, unchanged from the previous week and lower than the average analyst estimate of 4%. Weather forecasts signaled further delays.

(Additional report by Enrico de Cruz in Manila and Sibyl de la Hamide in Paris)