Producers of metals and other raw materials fell amid fears about the outlook for global growth.
The price of wheat hit an all-time high in Chicago, as Russia and Ukraine, which produce about 30% of global exports of the grain, remained locked in a brutal war. Wheat futures rose by 8% to $12.94 a bushel, bringing gains in the last six sessions to almost 50%, the largest in such a short space of time for the grain.
Odessa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov said the Black Sea port is preparing for a Russian amphibious assault. Odessa is the main export hub for wheat and other Ukrainian exports.
There are some notable exceptions to Western sanctions of Russian oligarchs, including Vladimir Potanin, the chief executive of Norilsk Nickel, a company that controls a commanding share of global nickel and palladium markets, The Wall Street Journal reported.
EN+ Group, the controlling shareholder of Rusal, Russia's largest aluminum producer, said it was exploring a separation of its international operations and that its British chairman was stepping down.
One brokerage said the shock to steel markets from the war from two large producers will have ripple effects on U.S. steelmakers. "The level of uncertainty is extremely high and circumstances may change rapidly, but ... in the short-term, at least, reduced pellets/pig iron/slabs/billets exports from Russian and Ukraine will have a smaller positive impact on mini-mills such as Nucor, Steel Dynamics, and Commercial Metals than on integrated companies such as Cleveland Cliffs, U.S. Steel and [Brazilian concern] Companhia Siderurgica Nacional," said analysts at brokerage Morgan Stanley, in a note to clients.
Gold futures, a traditional safe haven in times of geopolitical turmoil, topped $2,000 an ounce for the first time in more than a year.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-07-22 1708ET
