Wheat prices soared closer to record levels as Russia’s intensifying war in Ukraine cuts off supplies from one of the world’s leading breadbaskets. Futures in Chicago jumped by the daily limit for the sixth straight session, rising 7% to $12.94 a bushel. That builds on a massive surge of 41% last week, the most in data spanning six decades, and puts prices at their highest since 2008. The Paris contract breached an all-time high after jumping as much as 11%. Wheat is a major food staple and surging prices will pile pressure on government budgets and add to global hunger. Prices have reached levels that were last seen during the 2008 global food-price crisis, surpassing highs that helped contribute to the Arab Spring a decade ago. “The escalation of the conflict is now putting markets into serious turmoil,” the Agricultural Market Information System said Monday in a report . […]