European market
Grain prices fell slightly yesterday, despite the firmness in Chicago. Some consolidation is taking place after the strong rise of the last few months. The market needs new signals to take a clear direction. From a meteorological perspective, rain is expected in France from this weekend, before lower temperatures in next few days.
According to the Buenos Aires exchange, wheat production in Argentina is projected at 19.8 Mt this year, up from 19.2 Mt estimated last month. This is due to recent beneficial rains. Soybean plantings are starting and are estimated to be 4.6% complete. Corn plantings are reported to be 27.6% complete.
On the international scene, Saudi Arabia is buying 655,000t of wheat and Jordan has purchased 60,000t of feed barley from Australia.
The palm is rebounding this morning in Kuala Lumpur. To be noted, the last day of trading for the November rapeseed contract on Euronext.
The dollar is losing ground this morning at 1.1677 against the euro and 70.34 against the ruble. Oil is little changed at 82.80 usd per barrel.
American market
Wheat prices rose sharply in Chicago yesterday and reached their highest level since 2013.
In corn, the harvesting delays due to rain is supporting prices. In addition, the surge in nitrogen fertilizer prices raises questions about planting intentions in the US for next spring.
This week's wheat exports are at 69,300t, corn at 890,400t, and soybeans at 1,183Mt. These figures are disappointing compared to anticipations.
Yesterday, funds were net buyers in 5,500 lots of corn and 7,000 lots of wheat. They were net sellers in 3,000 lots of soybeans.
Black Sea market
According to the Russian Minister of Agriculture, grain production this year will amount to 123 Mt, down from 127.4 Mt previously seen. Wheat production is expected to range between 75 and 75.5 Mt. The ministry expects winter grain sowing to be at 19.5 Mha. To date, plantings remain behind schedule at 17.6 Mha compared to 18.3 Mha last year, due to water deficit.
Same scenario in Ukraine where there is some water deficit, which could lead to a drop in autumn plantings compared to expectations.
Prices in the Black Sea area rose significantly yesterday, both for corn and wheat.
