Despite the imposed sanctions, Russia remains a major factor in setting prices on global exchanges and markets. European sources continue to lose competitiveness, which is evident from the latest international tenders.

Exactly what the purpose of the march, organized by the private military company Wagner, was not very clear, but the markets interpreted this as a new dose of uncertainty and reacted instantly. In addition, the increasingly uncertain future of the Black Sea Corridor also added to traders' worries, and so prices began to "peel away" from the bottoms they had been at in recent months.

Many countries in the Middle East and North Africa rely heavily on Russian wheat. Egypt, for example, usually obtains 60% of its wheat needs through imports from Russia. Any change in Russian exports could change global trade flows at a time when production is threatened globally.

Last week, export prices for Russian wheat rose for the second week in a row, and so did the pace of exports, with the increase in prices also seen on world markets.

According to consulting agency IKAR, the price of new Russian crop wheat with a 12.5% ​​protein content, delivered free on board (FOB) from the Black Sea in July, was estimated at the end of last week at $231 per ton, compared with $228 per ton the previous week.

"As recently as Monday (June 26), forwards for the new crop were already at levels around $235 per ton," said Dmitry Rilko, head of the agency.

At the same time, data on exports from the country also arrived. According to SovEcon, total Russian wheat exports in June will reach 3.2 million tons, compared to 1 million tons in June 2022 and an average of 1.4 million tons over the past five years.

The Russian Federation exported 1 million tonnes of grain last week, compared with 680,000 tonnes a week earlier, including 970,000 tonnes of wheat, compared with 560,000 tonnes a week earlier, SovEcon's weekly report said.