 August 1, 2023 8:14AM Wheat and corn prices have jumped after Ukraine said a Russian drone attack damaged a port facility in the Odesa region. Russian forces struck overnight, regional governor Oleh Kiper said in a Telegram statement. Some objects of port and industrial infrastructure caught fire, and a silo was damaged, according to the statement. Wheat futures in Chicago jumped 4.8pc to $6.835 a bushel. Corn rose 2.6pc. Russia has previously attacked ports in the Odesa region and on the Danube river in a bid to disrupt Ukraine's exports. Wheat prices fell to the lowest level in two weeks on Tuesday as Ukraine continued to explore alternative grain export routes after Moscow pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative allowing shipments through the vital trade route. Romania plans to expand one of the key transi){kind=link}
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The FTSE 100 opened lower after Fitch downgraded the US credit rating in a decision branded “arbitrary” by the country’s Treasury Secretary.
European markets including Britain’s blue chip index declined after the world’s largest economy was stripped of its top level AAA credit grade two months after it nearly defaulted on its debts.
The FTSE 100 dropped 0.9pc after the open while the German Dax fell 1.2pc and France’s CAC 40 lost 1pc.
The credit grader cut the US one level from AAA to AA+, echoing a move made more than a decade ago by S&P Global Ratings.