EU Wheat Ends Higher In Quiet Trade
EU wheat futures closed higher in quiet pre-Christmas trade. Paris March milling wheat closed up EUR2.25 at EUR130.50/tonne. London May feed wheat ended up GBP1.50 at GBP100/tonne, with just 63 lots moved.
Various scattered tenders seem unlikely to make much difference to the wheat market at the moment. Japan is in for a routine 62,000mt US/Canadian wheat. Iraq is looking for 50,000mt optional origin wheat. Pakistan may, however, buy up to 500,000mt optional origin milling wheat this side of Christmas.
With the Russian ruble and Ukraine hryvnia about as popular as a wicker chair in a nudist colony there won't be too many surprises as to the favourites for these tenders. These guys want/need the foreign currency.
Severely cold weather in the US plains may be causing some winterkill to wheat crops without a protective snow cover.
The EU crop for 2009 is in the ground in generally less than ideal conditions. Lack of credit is the main hurdle in Eastern Europe, with price the biggest problem in the west. The French and German crops have been planted in a similar area to 2008, but the jury is still out on final yield. Apart from these two, next season's output is already expected lower, in some cases significantly so.
Various scattered tenders seem unlikely to make much difference to the wheat market at the moment. Japan is in for a routine 62,000mt US/Canadian wheat. Iraq is looking for 50,000mt optional origin wheat. Pakistan may, however, buy up to 500,000mt optional origin milling wheat this side of Christmas.
With the Russian ruble and Ukraine hryvnia about as popular as a wicker chair in a nudist colony there won't be too many surprises as to the favourites for these tenders. These guys want/need the foreign currency.
Severely cold weather in the US plains may be causing some winterkill to wheat crops without a protective snow cover.
The EU crop for 2009 is in the ground in generally less than ideal conditions. Lack of credit is the main hurdle in Eastern Europe, with price the biggest problem in the west. The French and German crops have been planted in a similar area to 2008, but the jury is still out on final yield. Apart from these two, next season's output is already expected lower, in some cases significantly so.
