EU Wheat Close - Thursday

Posted by Nogger - a legend in his own mind at 19:20 | Categorized as

26/04/12 -- EU grains finished mixed with May 12 London wheat closing GBP1.90/tonne higher at GBP177.40/tonne, but with new crop months GBP0.35/tonne lower. Paris wheat did the opposite with May 12 Paris wheat falling EUR1.50/tonne to EUR211.00/tonne and new crop months adding EUR0.50-0.75/tonne.

There are some reports of dryness lingering in Eastern Europe even though the drought in Western Europe has been well and truly broken.

The International Grains Council today reduced their estimate for world 2012/12 wheat production by 5 MMT from last month to 676 MMT, citing "worse than expected winter damage and recent dry conditions" in Europe.

That represents a fall of 2.7% on last year, although corn production is seen more than making up for that deficit with 2012/13 output rising 4% to a record 900 MMT.

US wheat was higher on ideas that hot weather in the southwest Plains and a low-to-moderate freeze threat for parts of the northern and eastern Midwest may cause some light damage.

Also lending support to US wheat was news that weekly export sales there beat trade expectations of 350-700 TMT, coming in at 744,000 TMT.

Brussels issued soft wheat export licences fo 223,500 MT this past week, bringing the 2011/12 year to date total to 11.3 MMT, almost a third down on where we were a year ago.

Commissioning at the Vivergo bioethanol plant in Hull is now said to be 46% complete.