EU Grains W/e 17th Feb, Rapeseed The Only Net Gainer On The Week

W/E 17/02/17 -- EU grains closed with Mar 17 London wheat down GBP1.10/tonne on the week at GBP146.70/tonne, Mar 17 Paris wheat was down EUR0.25/tonne versus last Friday at EUR171.50/tonne, Mar 17 Paris corn fell EUR1.75/tonne over the course of the week and Feb 17 Paris rapeseed was up EUR1.50/tonne.

The latest data from Brussels shows that the EU exported around 240,000 MT of soft wheat for the week ending February 15, pushing total exports for the 2016/17 marketing year to 15.54 MMT.

That's around 8% lower than the 16.84 MMT shipped out a year previously and a 14% down on 18.10 MMT the season prior to that.

At home, "there has been less than a £10/MT premium for full specification bread wheat over feed wheat since October. However, UK bread milling wheat prices are historically firmer, with average UK ex-farm prices two weeks ago hitting their highest level in 22 months," said the HGCA.

"The UK now has some of the most expensive feed wheat in the world. As part of the tighter UK wheat supply and demand picture that we already knew about this season, there has been continued strong demand for feed wheat for both bioethanol and animal feed," they added.

The latest customs data shows wheat imports into the UK reached a 15-month high in December of 174 TMT. Exports fell to 93 TMT the lowest monthly total since July 2015.

On a global level, Chicago wheat futures closed at their highest levels since last June on Wednesday following the USDA's move to cut its forecasts of US and global end-season stocks for wheat the previous week.

This has also triggered some short-covering among the spec community.

UkragoConsult estimated the 2016 Russian wheat crop at 67.0 MMT in clean weight (IKAR 67.5 MMT).