European market
Commodity prices marked a decline yesterday in the wake of crude oil prices, in the perspective of an agreement on the situation in Iran and maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. Crude oil prices, both in London and in New York, have recorded a decline of around -4% in the perspective of an upcoming reopening of the strait and a more significant resumption of freight traffic in the coming weeks. The downward movements observed yesterday on the prices of other raw materials, including agricultural productions, were nevertheless much more modest.
On Euronext, rapeseed prices have broken through the support zone of €520/t, returning to trade at their lowest level for more than a month. The August contract nevertheless closed the session above €510/t. Vegetable oil prices also marked a decline, both in rapeseed oil and sunflower oil.
Wheat prices have also shown a decline, both on the physical market and on the Euronext futures market. The September deadline is pushed back below the level of €200/t during the session. The downward movement leads to some repositioning of buyers. Algeria, through its OAIC agency, is launching a new tender for soft wheat, optional origin, for shipments in August.
The operators obviously remain attentive to the approach of the harvest and to the yield potential. The Argus Media team also carried out a crop tour at the beginning of the month in Romania, confirming an important harvest potential now estimated at 13.86 Mt, up compared to last year.
American market
At the opening of the American market, the prices of many raw materials, including crude oil, marked a sharp decline following the announcement of an agreement between Iran and the USA. In Chicago, grain prices also showed a sharp decline at the beginning of the day, leading wheat, corn and soybeans. Corn has also marked a new contract low, both for the 2025 and 2026 harvest, with the December 2026 contract passing below $4.35/bu. However, this downward movement caused a slight rebound afterwards, with finally, at the end of the session, prices almost unchanged compared to Friday's close, or even slightly up for many contracts.
Despite the current price level, the rebound movement was quickly contained by the evolution of growing conditions, where weekly figures from the USDA show a slight improvement for crops in "good to excellent" condition, compared to last week. In corn, the areas rated "good to excellent" are displayed at 68%, i.e. +1 point compared to last week. In soybeans, where the sowing is finalizing, the crops in a "good to excellent" condition are also progressing by +1 point, reaching 66% of the surfaces, i.e. a level equivalent to that of last year on the same date. In spring wheat, the improvement is more marked, with a gain of +3 points compared to last week, now announced "good to excellent" on 55% of the areas. The winter wheat harvests, on the other hand, are progressing, done by 25% now.
Black Sea market
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