(Adds closing prices, updates with details)
* Biggest daily gain in wheat in five weeks
* Corn follows oil higher
* Soybeans ends higher on end-of-year market repositioning
CHICAGO, Dec 26 (Reuters) -
Chicago Board of Trade wheat climbed more than 3% on Tuesday, the biggest daily gain in more than five weeks, as the market reacted to potential shipping route issues in the Black Sea after Ukraine struck a large Russian warship in Crimea.
Soybeans were also higher while corn firmed, supported by a
rally in crude oil
.
The most-active wheat contract at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) ended up 20 cents, or 3.25%, at $6.36-1/4, its highest price since Dec. 7 and the biggest daily percentage jump since Nov. 17 when it leaped 4%.
Wheat firmed after Ukraine struck a large Russian landing warship in Crimea with cruise missiles in an overnight attack in the Black Sea, a key global shipping route for grains.
The conflict "in Ukraine seems to be escalating a bit," said Lane Akre, economist with ProFarmer. "So I think (there's) just a little bit of risk entering the market there."
Thin trading volume in the commodities markets was expected on Tuesday and throughout the week between the Christmas and New Year's Day holidays.
CBOT's most-active soybean contract settled up 12-3/4 cents at $13.19 a bushel while corn finished up 7-1/4 cents at $4.80-1/4 a bushel.
Soybeans were supported by traders position rebalancing before the beginning of the year.
Farmers in Brazil's main agricultural state began
harvesting
their soybeans from the 2023/24 cycle, the earliest known start of the soy harvest in Mato Grosso as dry weather sped up crop cycles. Brazil is the world's top soybean exporter.
Meanwhile, crude oil rallied on Tuesday, supported by Middle East strife and investor optimism that the U.S. Federal Reserve would soon start cutting interest rates, boosting global economic growth and fuel demand.
A jump in oil prices was helping support corn, given the crop's role as a feedstock for ethanol fuel and soyoil's use in biodiesel. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Editing by Mark Porter)
