Market movements were mixed in overnight trading.
- Chicago wheat December contract down 1.2 cents per bushel to 507.6c;
- Kansas wheat December contract down 2.4c to 422.2c;
- Minneapolis wheat December contract 1.2c to 511.4c;
- MATIF wheat December contract steady at €177.75 per tonne;
- Corn December contract up 4c to 375.6c;
- Soybeans January contract up 1.4c to 916.6c;
- Winnipeg canola January contract up C$0.70 to C$462.70 per tonne;
- MATIF rapeseed February contract down €0.75 to €389.25/t;
- Brent crude January contract down US$0.09 to $62.28 per barrel;
- Dow Jones index lower at 27,781.96 points;
- AUD stronger at $0.67942;
- CAD stronger at $0.75538;
- EUR weaker at $0.90688.
Export demand
Markets closed mixed overnight after a yo-yo week of trading. The focus was on the Egyptian purchase of just under 500,000 tonnes of wheat at prices a touch lower than the previous tender. Russia got most of the business with 345,000t, while Ukraine sold 120,000t. Also on the demand side, Saudi Arabia opened a barley tender, which is likely to be followed by a wheat tender next week later. It will be interesting to see whether Australia gets any Saudi barley business. China has opened its borders to imports of US poultry as it keeps plugging protein gaps left from African Swine Fever.
Corn
The US corn harvest looks like it may get a run over the next seven days. The USDA has kicked the yield can down the road, and overnight wires were full of “we expect the Jan report to show…”. US corn exports keep losing ground to South America and, according to the USDA, US values are also under pressure in its domestic feed market. Some support has come from the ethanol sector. The push and pull in the corn market has given nothing for the directional traders, so prices are bogged.
Australia
China has announced it will extend its anti-dumping investigation into pricing of Australian barley by six months, which pushes the completion date out to May 2020.
While the ongoing drought in Australia has provided substantial demand for feed barley, which has been trading at a premium to export parity for some time now, it is scary to think what would happen if Australia was not in a drought and had an exportable surplus. One outcome could be that potentially the tariff codes get split between feed and malt.
Aussie markets continue to firm. Cash boards are attracting more buyers as harvest rolls on, creating some friendly competition in the market between consumer and trader. Harvest pace is set to ramp up leading into the weekend with ideal conditions for growers.
Source: Lachstock Consulting
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