Moves in overnight grain markets were limited and mostly lower ahead of the USDA WASDE report.
- Chicago wheat July contract down US 1.75 cents per bushel to 506.25c;
- Kansas wheat July contract down 0.25c to 457.5c;
- Minneapolis wheat July contract down 4.75 cents to 519.50c;
- Corn July contract down 1.25c to 326.25c;
- Soybeans July contract up 2.25c to 865.5c;
- Winnipeg canola July contract up C$0.10 per tonne to $467.80;
- MATIF wheat September contract up €0.50/t to €185;
- MATIF rapeseed August contract down €0.50/t to €378.25;
- Brent crude August contract up US$0.55 per barrel to $41.73;
- Dow Jones index down 282 points 26,990;
- AUD higher at $0.6973;
- CAD weaker at $1.3427;
- EUR higher at $1.1390.
Markets
Market activity was quiet ahead of the USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report due out overnight. This report has historically been the appetiser before the more significant stocks and area data is released at the end of the month. The focus will be Russia and the EU wheat production, with SovEcon moving to 82 million tonnes (Mt) ahead of the report. It is easy to get lost in the data on this one, given how late the rainfall has been and where it has fallen. NDVI charts have something for everyone in them; against last year, southern Russia and south-western Ukraine look horrible, but there are other areas that are clearly outperforming. An analyst range of 73-82Mt is extremely wide for this time of the year, and markets will certainly react as we get some better clarity. We still have at least another month before we can start to quantify production, and in the meantime, the market has to decide how much risk premium is appropriate.
Egypt bought 120,000t of Russian wheat overnight at $227.25/t, around $7 higher than its last purchase at the start of the month, although this did not completely reflect the price change as there were some payment term changes in the difference. Unusual was the lack of other offers from the likes of France and Ukraine. It is easy to draw too much from this, given it was for a difficult shipment period between old and new crop.
On soybeans, the Chinese keep lifting US values as Brazil gets to the end of its marketing program. The market is sensitive to the volatile US-China relationship and the likelihood that Phase One will be adhered too. Given China has spent around 17 per cent of the Phase One pledge, it seems unlikely they will get there. More concerning is what the ramifications are of falling short.
Australia
In Aussie markets yesterday, bids and offers were a touch firmer but still lacking liquidity. ASX wheat saw some liquidity, with January trading early at AUD$305/t and finishing at $298/t, while the nearby July contract traded at $337/t. April ABS export data has been released, which saw wheat total exports for the month at 869,000mt up 4pc on April last year, and total grain exports at 1.689Mt for the month. Conditions still look favourable for most parts of Australia cropping areas leading into the weekend. Growers are piling urea on to crops through Victoria and NSW.
Source: Lachstock Consulting
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