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Russian Wheat Export Prices Rise

FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows a combine harvesting wheat in a field in the Rostov Region, Russia July 10, 2024. REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows a combine harvesting wheat in a field in the Rostov Region, Russia July 10, 2024. REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov//File Photo
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Russian Wheat Export Prices Rise

FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows a combine harvesting wheat in a field in the Rostov Region, Russia July 10, 2024. REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows a combine harvesting wheat in a field in the Rostov Region, Russia July 10, 2024. REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov//File Photo

Russian wheat export prices rose last week, tracking global prices, with analysts expecting weak export activity due to the upcoming long New Year holiday.

Dmitry Rylko, head of the IKAR consultancy, said the price of Russian wheat with 12.5% protein for free-on-board (FOB) delivery at the end of January was up $3 to $237 per metric ton.

The Sovecon consultancy saw prices for Russian wheat with the same protein content and delivery terms at $233 to $239 per ton, compared with $232 to $238 the previous week.

Russian FOB is expected to be mostly flat on low trade activity, the agency said in a weekly report.

Weekly grain exports were estimated at 0.83 million metric tons, including 0.78 million tons of wheat, up from 0.53 million tons of grain including 0.44 million tons of wheat the previous week as shipments recovered after storm disruptions. Sovecon has upgraded its estimates of December wheat exports by 0.1 million tons to 3.4 million tons, compared to 3.6 million tons a year ago.

IKAR estimates December wheat exports at 3.6-3.7 million tons, down from 4.4 million tons in November. Algeria is believed to have purchased 1.17 million tons of wheat this week. Some traders also expect some Russian wheat to be supplied. Egypt’s state grain buyer, Mostakbal Misr, contracted about 1.267 million tons of wheat, most of which was sourced from Russia, two sources with direct knowledge told Reuters.

Russia's IKAR agricultural consultancy said on Thursday it saw 2025/26 wheat exports down 6% to 41 million tons. Sovecon said on Monday that Russian wheat exports will fall by 17% to 36.4 million tons in the 2025/26 exporting season. Its forecast for the 2024/2025 season was revised to 43.7 million tons, from 44.1 million tons.

Russia harvested 125 million tons of grain and legumes, including 82 million tons of wheat, in clean weight, in 2024, down 13% from last year, data from statistical agency Rosstat showed on Thursday.

The wheat harvest is also down by 13%, to 82.4 million tons. Winter grains were sown over 17.6 million hectares, 1 million hectares less than in 2023. Temperatures remain above normal in all regions, Sovecon noted. The Russian state weather forecasting agency sees worsening conditions for winter cereals in January in the center of Russia and the Volga region.

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Egypt, Russia Hope to Speed up Construction of El Dabaa Nuclear Plant

The Egyptian and Russian delegations meet on Friday. (Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy)
The Egyptian and Russian delegations meet on Friday. (Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy)
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Egypt, Russia Hope to Speed up Construction of El Dabaa Nuclear Plant

The Egyptian and Russian delegations meet on Friday. (Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy)
The Egyptian and Russian delegations meet on Friday. (Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy)

Egypt and Russia are pushing to accelerate construction of the El Dabaa nuclear power plant and keep it on schedule.

Egypt’s Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mahmoud Esmat stressed the need for closer coordination between Egyptian and Russian institutions to deliver the project.

Meeting a Russian State Duma delegation on Friday, he said El Dabaa was central to Egypt’s peaceful nuclear program to generate electricity.

The plant is being built in the northern Dabaa area under a 2015 agreement between Cairo and Moscow, with a cost of $25 billion financed through a concessional Russian state loan. Final construction agreements were signed in 2017.

Esmat held talks with a Russian parliamentary delegation led by Nikolai Shulginov, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Energy. Egypt’s Electricity Ministry said discussions focused on expanding cooperation in clean and renewable energy and reviewing progress at the El Dabaa project.

The delegation also visited the project site. Russia’s embassy in Cairo said the trip underscored the project’s strategic importance and reflected strong cooperation between the two countries in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Talks covered implementation progress, phase timelines, and preparations for transitioning between construction stages. The two sides also reviewed coordination between joint work teams and companies involved in the project.

El Dabaa will include four nuclear reactors with a combined capacity of 4,800 megawatts, each producing 1,200 megawatts. The first reactor is due to start operations in 2028, with the remaining units scheduled to follow by 2030, according to the Electricity Ministry.

Esmat said Egypt’s partnership with Russia and the two countries’ long-standing ties had supported progress at the site. He said the project was key to diversifying power generation, expanding reliance on clean and renewable energy, and advancing Egypt’s energy mix strategy.

Shulginov said the project goes beyond building a nuclear plant, aiming to establish a new advanced technological industry supported by infrastructure that strengthens Egypt’s energy security.

Egypt’s Electricity Ministry said the plant relies on advanced engineering solutions and cost-effective, reliable technologies that meet the highest safety and environmental standards.

Business

US Trade Representative: China Involvement in Iran Would Complicate Matters

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer attends a press conference with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (not pictured) after two days of meetings with a Chinese delegation, in Paris, France March 16, 2026. Reuters 
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer attends a press conference with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (not pictured) after two days of meetings with a Chinese delegation, in Paris, France March 16, 2026. Reuters 
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US Trade Representative: China Involvement in Iran Would Complicate Matters

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer attends a press conference with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (not pictured) after two days of meetings with a Chinese delegation, in Paris, France March 16, 2026. Reuters 
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer attends a press conference with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (not pictured) after two days of meetings with a Chinese delegation, in Paris, France March 16, 2026. Reuters 

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Friday that the ‌United States is trying to maintain a stable relationship with China, but if Beijing gets involved with Iran in a way that is counter to US interests, that would complicate matters.

“The underlying goals ⁠of our economies are so different. But there's a way where we can have some economic stability. If China is going to be involved in Iran in a way that's harmful to US interests, then that obviously complicates it, and that's China's responsibility to eliminate ‌that,” ⁠Greer said in an interview on CNBC.

Greer also said he expects US President Donald Trump to have a good meeting next month with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The trip ⁠comes just a year after Washington rolled out sweeping and at times erratic global tariffs.

“I think the ⁠thing to remember with China is, although we're trying very hard to have stability ⁠with China, particularly in trade and economics, not every challenge with them is resolved,” Greer said.

Meanwhile, the European Union and Washington are closing in on an agreement to coordinate ‌on producing and securing critical minerals, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.

The potential deal would include incentives such as minimum price guarantees that could favor non‑Chinese suppliers, the report said, citing an “action plan.”

The EU and US ⁠would also cooperate on standards, investments and joint projects, along with increased coordination on any supply disruptions by countries like China, the report added.

EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic said in March he had a “very ‌positive” ⁠meeting with Greer on the sidelines of a World Trade Organization ministerial meeting in Cameroon, where the two sides agreed to further advance work on critical ⁠minerals and also discussed tariffs.

The EU-US deal would cover “critical minerals along the entire value chain and life-cycle management, including exploration, extraction, ⁠processing, refining, recycling and recovery,” Bloomberg reported, citing a non-binding memorandum of understanding.

The US has been scrambling to get ⁠access to critical mineral reserves, especially rare earth supply chains currently dominated by Chinese players.

Business

US Inflation Surges 3.3% as Iran War Impact Bites

A person shops at a grocery store as inflation levels lead to a consumer price surge, in New York, New York, USA, 10 April 2026. (EPA)
A person shops at a grocery store as inflation levels lead to a consumer price surge, in New York, New York, USA, 10 April 2026. (EPA)
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US Inflation Surges 3.3% as Iran War Impact Bites

A person shops at a grocery store as inflation levels lead to a consumer price surge, in New York, New York, USA, 10 April 2026. (EPA)
A person shops at a grocery store as inflation levels lead to a consumer price surge, in New York, New York, USA, 10 April 2026. (EPA)

Inflation in the United States rose sharply in March, government data showed Wednesday, as higher energy prices due to the war in the Middle East hit Americans hard.

The nationwide sticker shock put pressure on President Donald Trump, who has ordered peace talks with Iran and faces mid-term elections in November.

The rate of inflation rose to 3.3 percent year-on-year in March, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). By comparison, this same consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.4 percent year-on-year a month earlier.

Gasoline prices surged by 21.2 percent between February and March -- the largest monthly increase since the government began publishing a related index in 1967, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said.

Excluding volatile energy and food prices, the inflation rate rose 2.6 percent compared to 2.5 a month earlier.

Markets had anticipated the surge, according to the consensus published by MarketWatch.

The United States and Israel began bombing Iran on February 28 and Tehran retaliated by blocking traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway used to carry a fifth of the world's oil and gas deliveries.

Despite being the world's top producer of crude oil, the United States also felt the pain, as prices at the gas pump shot up.

A gallon (3.78 liters) of regular gasoline currently costs an average of $4.15 in the United States, compared to approximately $3 just before the war.

- More price pain ahead -

The Trump administration -- elected in part on a promise to quash inflation -- maintains that the war's economic disruptions will be temporary.

US Vice President JD Vance said Friday he hoped for a "positive" outcome as he departed Washington for US-Iran peace talks being held in Pakistan this weekend.

But experts predicted more economic pain ahead due to the war in Iran, especially for middle and lower-income households in the United States already squeezed by rising energy and airfare prices.

Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, said that inflation soared in March to the highest level in almost two years.

"This is only the beginning. Food prices, travel and shipping costs are all going up in April and will exacerbate the pain," she said.

"March CPI was as expected, so no surprises. But there is a huge increase in fuel prices, boosting inflation" Christopher Low of FHN Financial told AFP.

"And we got the news last night that the ceasefire is not being honored by either side, apparently," he said. "There's still very little traffic through the Strait of Hormuz."

When Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, inflation was falling, compared to a peak in the spring of 2022.

The war in Ukraine, which had started a few months earlier, had driven prices at the pump even higher than they are today.

The CPI index was rising by 2.3 percent year-over-year in April 2025 -- coinciding with the US president's announcement of a sharp increase in tariffs on imported goods.

Inflation started to creep up, though Washington refused to acknowledge this as a consequence of the tariff war.

Price growth slowed again late last year, largely thanks to gasoline prices, relatively moderate at the time.

During the Federal Reserve's most recent meeting in mid-March, Chairman Jerome Powell explained that the war risked delaying efforts to bring inflation under control in the United States.

The US central bank's target for inflation is two percent -- an objective it has not met in five years due to a succession of shocks to the economy: the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and tariffs.