Sept 22 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat, soybean and corn futures were under pressure in early Asian trading on Thursday as traders weighed concerns over global economic health after the Federal Reserve signalled more aggressive interest rate hikes this year.
However, concerns about Black Sea supplies limited the losses, with traders worried about an escalation in the Ukraine war that has disrupted crucial grain exports from the region.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The most-traded wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.3% at $9.01 a bushel, as of 0100 GMT.
* CBOT corn
* Fed Chair Jerome Powell vowed on Wednesday that he and his
fellow policymakers would "keep at" their battle to beat down
inflation, as the U.S. central bank hiked rates by 75 basis
points for a third straight time and signalled that borrowing
costs would keep rising this year.
* Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy demanded a special
United Nations tribunal impose "just punishment" on Russia for
its invasion of Ukraine, including financial penalties and
stripping Moscow of its veto power in the Security Council.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered first wartime
mobilisation since World War Two and announced moves to annex
four Ukrainian provinces and threatened to use nuclear weapons
to defend his country.
* Ukraine's grain exports, which have slumped since the
start of the war in February, are down 43.2% year-on-year in the
2022/23 season so far at 6.88 million tonnes, the agriculture
ministry said.
* Argentina's Rosario grains exchange cut its production
forecasts for the country's corn and wheat crops as a prolonged
drought impacts the major grains-producing country.
* Brazilian wheat production should total 10.935 million
tonnes in 2022 as four states are likely to increase output in
what will be a record season for local farmers, according to
agribusiness consultancy Safras & Mercado. MARKET NEWS
* The dollar surged to a fresh two-decade high against major
peers and stocks fell on Thursday after the Fed raised interest
rates and forecast more hikes ahead than investors had expected. DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0500 Japan Chain Store Sales YY Aug
0645 France Business Climate Sept
1100 UK BOE Bank Rate Sept
1230 US Initial Jobless Claims Weekly
1400 EU Consumer Confidence Flash Sept
(Reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz in Manila; Editing by Sherry
Jacob-Phillips)