Highlights
We have reported many times the past year that the world has consumed more wheat than it produced the past four years. Not so anymore. The USDA changed the S&D situation for the 2022-23 marketing year to 789.89 million mts of production and 789.58 million mts of consumption. This marketing year wheat production is projected to be 793.79 million mts and consumption 803.72 million mts. So, this year will be the third consecutive year of reduced carryover and fourth of the past five years.
Chernobyl, about 60 miles north of Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv, was targeted by drones early Friday morning. Some say the drones were launched by Ukraine and other reports say they were Russian drones.
In our opinion, the only purpose of this attack is to set up a provocation to disrupt the peace talks.
One of the three Chernobyl nuclear reactors malfunctioned in April 1986. It was the most serious nuclear mishap to date. It has been sealed with thousands of tons of gravel, clay, and 400,000 cubic meters of concrete 6 to 8 feet thick (~two meters) and 40 feet at its thickest point. The concrete was recently covered with steel plating. Drones are not going to come close to releasing nuclear energy. But the drones on the Chernobyl reactor site could scare the wheat market higher. That probably was at least some of the strength on wheat yesterday.