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Andy Burnham will hold talks on tackling cyber-security threats and sabotage with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz later.
Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro expected to face more charges this week.
A Royal Navy serviceman has been charged with spying for a foreign country, believed to be Russia, after an investigation by counter terror police.
Lithuania will propose that the European Union ban the transit of Russian grain through the bloc and impose sanctions on Russian agricultural oligarchs who support the war in Ukraine, Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said Wednesday.
Daily Market Update
Wheat
A profit-taking session after four consecutive days of gains. London November 2026 eased £1.00 to £208.50, May 2027 fell £2.25 to £216.00 on the bulk of volume, and November 2027 dropped £2.75 to £203.00. Paris/Matif December lost 3.25 euros to €244.25 having traded as high as €248.50 early in the session — the approach of €250 constituting a strong technical resistance that brought sellers back in force. Chicago December wheat was down 18¾ cents to $6.85½, wiping out all of Tuesday's gains.
The correction is technical rather than fundamental. No fresh Black Sea escalation drove the move — the absence of new negative headlines was sufficient to trigger profit taking at resistance levels after an €11.50/tonne four-session rally. Russia's foreign minister Lavrov has called a return to the 2022 corridor agreement "completely unacceptable and unrealistic" — the clearest official Russian rejection of the diplomatic mechanism that markets had been partially pricing. October corridor talks via Turkey and the UN's Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue remain scheduled but Lavrov's statement significantly reduces their likely effectiveness.
US winter wheat planting is at 36% complete against a 46% five-year average — 10 percentage points behind. The lagging pace reflects both the difficult growing conditions and reduced farmer enthusiasm given the season's economics. Friday's WASDE is the next major catalyst with pre-report positioning adding to yesterday's selling pressure.
Rapeseed
The most significant technical move of the session. The November 2026 Euronext contract fell €16.75 to €506.25 — a sharp correction driven by Rhine water level logistics disruption ahead of the October 30th contract expiry. Deferred contracts followed lower in sympathy but the move is primarily an expiry and logistics-driven technical event rather than a fundamental shift. Rain returning to France is welcomed for both winter rapeseed development and winter grain planting — a modestly positive agronomic signal.
European Corn
Held relatively well despite the broader wheat-led decline — the catastrophic French production outcome is providing an independent fundamental floor that limits the downside on Euronext corn. The balance of the French corn market remains in structural deficit regardless of futures market sentiment.
US Markets — Pre-WASDE Caution
Profit taking extended across all US products as key technical resistance levels — $7/bushel wheat, $5/bushel corn, $13/bushel soybeans — attracted sellers. Early corn yield results remain mixed with disappointments while soybean results are coming in better than expected. Last week's export sales were described as particularly disappointing in wheat and corn — raising the prospect of upward stock revisions in upcoming reports, a bearish counterpoint to the supply tightening narrative. Today's weekly export sales figures will be watched carefully — another disappointing set would add downside pressure.
Opinion
Lavrov calling the 2022 corridor agreement "completely unacceptable and unrealistic" is the clearest statement Russia has made about its negotiating position on Black Sea grain exports. It is not a ceasefire rejection — it is a rejection of the specific mechanism the market had been treating as the most likely resolution template. If Russia will not return to the 2022 framework, the diplomatic path to reopening the Black Sea becomes considerably more uncertain and potentially more time-consuming. October corridor talks may still produce something — but Lavrov has just raised the bar considerably.
The November 2026 rapeseed contract falling €16.75 on Rhine logistics and expiry dynamics is creating noise that obscures the underlying oilseed story. The February 2027 contract at €560+ is the commercially relevant reference for growers marketing next season's OSR — the November expiry distortion should not be treated as a fundamental price signal.
US winter wheat planting at 36% against a 46% average — 10 points behind — on top of a season that just produced abandonment rates not seen since the Dust Bowl. The 2027 US wheat supply picture is being written right now in planting lags and difficult establishment conditions. Every week the planting pace remains below average tightens the 2027 balance sheet further.
Friday's WASDE is the scheduled catalyst. Pre-report positioning has added to this week's selling — which means a bullish surprise could produce a sharp bounce from current levels. Corn yield cuts remain the most likely bullish outcome given crop rating deterioration. Wheat balance sheet tightening from Black Sea export adjustments would add further support.
Technical resistance at €250 on Euronext December held. The next attempt at that level — and there will be one — will be better informed by Friday's data.