European market

Volatility remains the key theme in the grain market at the start of the month. No less than 7.75 €/t separated the highest and lowest trades yesterday on the Sep 26 wheat contract on Euronext. The range on the Nov 26 rapeseed contract on Euronext reached 14 €/t. The Nov 26 corn contract showed a 6.5 €/t gap between the session high and low yesterday.

The reason was the return of selling pressure, which erased the sharp rebound seen the previous day across all products. Yesterday, grains failed to break away from the bearish influence of the oil market, unlike what had been observed on Monday.

Announcements from the US government regarding an imminent agreement with Iran sent oil prices sharply lower, with WTI crude now back below 75 $ per barrel in New York.

However, the situation in the Black Sea remains unchanged, with trade still heavily disrupted by the current blockages and the ongoing strikes. Efforts to find alternative export routes are intensifying on both the Ukrainian and Russian sides but are facing numerous difficulties.

After being very quiet until now, the global wheat trade is set to become more active this Wednesday with the conclusion of the tender launched on Monday by the OAIC in Algeria to purchase soft wheat for a shipment period running from mid-September to the end of October.

American market

The deterioration in US soybean and, above all, corn crop conditions, as reported Monday evening by the USDA, failed to provide its usual support to prices on the Chicago market. Selling pressure took the upper hand yesterday, with traders reassured by the persistence of beneficial rainfall in weather forecasts across a large share of the Corn Belt. The most sensitive area remains the westernmost part of the region, where rainfall over the next two weeks is still expected to fall short. The improvement in US spring wheat crop conditions, up 2 points from the previous week to 55 % rated "good to excellent", is also weighing on this market.

The sharp decline in oil prices, driven by the prospect of an agreement between the United States and Iran, added yesterday to the bearish factors weighing on the US grain market.

Black Sea market

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