Review of the week
The grains complex took another bruising this week as U.S. cash grain prices tumbled to their lowest level in many months, as average elevator bids for spot supplies plunged 2%-5% for wheat, some 6% for corn and about 13% for soybeans this week.
SOYBEANS
August Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures closed $1.58 3/4 lower on the week
Near ideal growing conditions, falling crude oil prices and reduced Chinese demand dragged the market lower.
CORN
Sep CBOT corn futures lost 66 1/2 cents during the week, ending below $5 a bushel.
US WHEAT
September Chicago wheat settled 28 3/4 cents lower on the week as heavy selling in corn and soybeans spilled over into wheat pits. Large supplies of new crop wheat the world over continues to weigh on wheat.
PARIS WHEAT
November Paris-based milling wheat closed the week EUR4 lower. Weakness in the euro and fears of quality losses due to recent rains helped to halt milling wheat's decline.
LONDON WHEAT
November London feed wheat closed £5.50 lower on the week. Harvesting in the U.K. remains fairly slow due to cooler temperatures following recent rains. This will likely see more of the UK crop destined for feed usage and missing out on making milling quality.
Competition from lower-quality wheat out of Ukraine continues to put pressure on the U.K. feed wheat market.
According to Gleadell's website UK ex farm feed wheat values are now down to £106-110 at harvest, rising to £115-119 for November and £122-126 for May. Spot barley values are now just £104-106 they say.
PARIS RAPESEED
The November Paris rapeseed future closed the week EUR28.50 lower. The rapeseed harvest is now pretty much completed in large parts of Europe and overall final yields have been good.
Ukraine has had a good harvest and will be an aggressive exporter in 2008, with promising crops also reported in France, Germany, Poland and Hungary.
The UK crop is estimated to be around 60-70% done, with yields and quality variable.
Falling crude oil prices have added to rapeseed's woes during the week.
PARIS CORN
November corn lost EUR13 on the week on pressure from the outlook for more of Europe's wheat crop to be feed grade than originally expected.
The IGC said world corn production in 2008/09 was now projected at 759 million tonnes, up 3 million tonnes from it's previous forecast of 756 million.
CRUDE OIL
Crude-oil futures suffered a loss of 8% for the week to close at a three-month low Friday, as a surging dollar and concerns about growth in Europe prompted traders to pull their investments away from the commodities sector.
Crude for September delivery dropped $4.82 to close at $115.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after earlier hitting a low of $115.10, a level not seen since early May. The contract finished the week with a loss of $9.90.
SOYBEANS
August Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures closed $1.58 3/4 lower on the week
Near ideal growing conditions, falling crude oil prices and reduced Chinese demand dragged the market lower.
CORN
Sep CBOT corn futures lost 66 1/2 cents during the week, ending below $5 a bushel.
US WHEAT
September Chicago wheat settled 28 3/4 cents lower on the week as heavy selling in corn and soybeans spilled over into wheat pits. Large supplies of new crop wheat the world over continues to weigh on wheat.
PARIS WHEAT
November Paris-based milling wheat closed the week EUR4 lower. Weakness in the euro and fears of quality losses due to recent rains helped to halt milling wheat's decline.
LONDON WHEAT
November London feed wheat closed £5.50 lower on the week. Harvesting in the U.K. remains fairly slow due to cooler temperatures following recent rains. This will likely see more of the UK crop destined for feed usage and missing out on making milling quality.
Competition from lower-quality wheat out of Ukraine continues to put pressure on the U.K. feed wheat market.
According to Gleadell's website UK ex farm feed wheat values are now down to £106-110 at harvest, rising to £115-119 for November and £122-126 for May. Spot barley values are now just £104-106 they say.
PARIS RAPESEED
The November Paris rapeseed future closed the week EUR28.50 lower. The rapeseed harvest is now pretty much completed in large parts of Europe and overall final yields have been good.
Ukraine has had a good harvest and will be an aggressive exporter in 2008, with promising crops also reported in France, Germany, Poland and Hungary.
The UK crop is estimated to be around 60-70% done, with yields and quality variable.
Falling crude oil prices have added to rapeseed's woes during the week.
PARIS CORN
November corn lost EUR13 on the week on pressure from the outlook for more of Europe's wheat crop to be feed grade than originally expected.
The IGC said world corn production in 2008/09 was now projected at 759 million tonnes, up 3 million tonnes from it's previous forecast of 756 million.
CRUDE OIL
Crude-oil futures suffered a loss of 8% for the week to close at a three-month low Friday, as a surging dollar and concerns about growth in Europe prompted traders to pull their investments away from the commodities sector.
Crude for September delivery dropped $4.82 to close at $115.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after earlier hitting a low of $115.10, a level not seen since early May. The contract finished the week with a loss of $9.90.
