Wheat bounced about 2pc into the US trading session. Other markets firmed 1pc or less.

• Chicago wheat March contract up US13.25cents/bushel to 583.25c/bu;
• Kansas wheat March contract up 14c/bu to 552c/bu;
• Minneapolis wheat March contract up 12.25c/bu to 555.5c/bu;
• MATIF wheat March contract up €1.25/t to €202.75;
• Corn March contract up 4c/bu to 423.75c/bu;
• Soybeans January contract up 12.75c/bu to 1156.5c/bu;
• Winnipeg canola January contract up C$3.90/t to $579.80/t;
• MATIF rapeseed February contract up €4/t to €408.75;
• Brent crude February up US$0.02 per barrel to $48.86;
• Dow Jones index down 105 points to 30,069;
• AUD firmer at $0.744;
• CAD unchanged at $1.282;
• EUR weaker at $1.208.
  

International

• Vaccinations are continuing in the UK, although warnings about adverse responses in people with existing allergies have hit.  Almost certain to increase some of the fears about the quick approval of the vaccine, although there’s been no immediate indication of a stop to the roll out.
• The next USDA WASDE report is due out late tonight.  This is a normally quiet report, and few in the market are expecting any kind of fireworks as the USDA normally leaves domestic figures largely unchanged prior to the Jan stocks and production reports.
• Average surveyed ending stocks estimates were around 1.7 billion bushels for corn, 170 million bushels (mbu) for beans (down 20 mbu from prior) and unchanged on wheat.
• Russian food security discussions are back in vogue after comments from President Putin about the need to keep prices affordable.  Speculation about the possibility for an export tax has also been encouraged by the implementation of a sunflowerseed export tax.
• US ethanol production was up 17,000 bpd to 991,000 barrels, although stocks have yet again continued to increase, up 834,000 barrels to 20.1 million.
• Argetina’s strikes are back again. Port inspectors scheduled a strike for 24 hours and potentially another 24 to follow
• France’s Agrimer pegged winter wheat acres up nearly 500,000 hectares to 4.73 million hectares (mha). It is below ideas by many of closer to 5mha.  Barley was estimated at 1.3mha, winter canola at 1.1mha.

Australia

• Cash markets were a touch more stable on the bid boards as the bleeding stopped for a day. Port Adelaide zone barley was up $3-4/t as it found some bid support to the grower from the major exporters
• Canola felt the heat of the offshore move lower and was down $5-6/t
• Sorghum in the north has copped a hiding in the last 28-48hrs with new season bids and offers dropping $50/t or more on the back of models for improving forecast weather conditions.