At 11:27 am (Brasília time) this Wednesday (18), the December wheat contract in Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) recorded a moderate increase of 3.75 points and 0.65%, trading at US$ cents 579.50/bushel, but with a retraction of 2.56% in the week. In Kansas Stock Exchange (KCBT), the grain advanced 6.00 points and 1.03%, to US$ cents 586.00/bushel – a weekly drop of 2.29%. Investors adjusted their positions while awaiting the monetary policy decision of the Federal Reserve (Fed). Later, at 3 p.m., the U.S. central bank is expected to announce a 0.50 percentage point cut in U.S. interest rates. The rate is currently at its highest level in two decades, at 5.25% and 5.50% per year. The dollar was falling against major global currencies, with the DXY falling 0.14%. In Ukraine, thefarmers planted about 340,000 hectares with winter wheat, a significant drop from the previous year, according to the country’s Ministry of Agriculture. On the other hand, First Deputy Minister of Agriculture Taras Vysotskiy maintained the forecast of planting of winter cereal for 2025 in an area of 4.5 to 5 million hectares.
This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.