Nogger's Blog

13/02/12 -- Greece finally got it's austerity vote through parliament I see, as protesters and police clashed outside. Eurozone ministers now need to ratify the proposed measures on Wednesday. Saying that you are going to do x,y and z to get your hands on EUR130 billion is not the same as actually doing x,y and z once you've got your greasy little mitts on the money of course, but I don't suppose that anyone has thought of that. That's just too ludicrous to contemplate isn't it?

US wheat won a rare victory in Egypt's latest tender over the weekend, coming in around USD20-25/tonne cheaper than French material. That's the first win for US wheat in the current marketing year, even if it was for only one cargo. It also seems to suggest that Paris wheat prices have got a little ahead of themselves.

My chums in the US are telling me that the effects of the removal of the ethanol blenders tax credit are finally starting to bite. That should mean reduced demand for corn from that sector, but also lower DDGS production. You could argue that to be either bullish or bearish for wheat there.

What you can't really argue against though is world wheat stocks at an all-time high, US winter wheat acres sharply higher and potentially massive US corn plantings to come.