SINGAPORE, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat futures gained more ground on Wednesday, supported by worries over supplies amid escalating conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Corn ticked lower, while soybeans were largely unchanged.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) rose 0.5% to $8.75-1/2 a bushel, as of 0051 GMT.
* Corn lost 0.1% to $6.67 a bushel and soybean added quarter of a cent to $14.08-1/4 a bushel.
* Traders are monitoring the conflict in Ukraine, which has disrupted grain exports from the Black Sea, after an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a stark new nuclear warning to Ukraine and the West.
* Farms in regions controlled by the Ukrainian government have sown 622,000 hectares (about 1.54 million acres) to winter wheat for the 2023 harvest, or 16% of the expected area, the agriculture ministry said on Tuesday.
* The ministry did not provide a forecast, although Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky told Reuters last month that the area could fall to 3.8 million hectares from 4.6 million hectares a year earlier because of Russia's invasion.
* The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said late Monday the corn harvest was 12% complete, behind the five-year average of 14%. The soybean harvest was 8% complete, lagging the five-year average of 13%.
* Traders await the USDA's quarterly U.S. grain stocks report on Friday, which has a history of jolting futures markets.
* Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT wheat and corn futures contracts on Tuesday and net sellers of soybeans, soymeal and soyoil futures, traders said.
MARKET NEWS
* U.S. stocks gave up early gains to fall deeper into a bear market on Tuesday, while sterling showed scant movement a day after hitting a record low, as investors remained nervous about a potential global recession.
DATA/EVENTS 0130 Australia Retail Sales MM Final Aug 0500 Japan Leading Indicator Revised July (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
