EU Grains End Higher Across The Board

Posted by Nogger - a legend in his own mind at 09:03 | Categorized as

08/11/16 -- EU grains closed higher across the board, following the lead of US markets. Fresh news was hard to come by ahead of the result of the US presidential election and USDA WASDE report.

At the finish Nov 16 London wheat was GBP1.25/tonne higher at GBP140.05/tonne, Dec 16 Paris wheat was up EUR1.50/tonne at EUR161.75/tonne, Nov 16 Paris corn ended EUR1.25/tonne firmer at EUR163.00/tonne and Feb 17 Paris rapeseed was EUR4.00/tonne higher at EUR394.00/tonne.

This was a new highest close for London wheat since late June 2014.

"Currency movements have again protected UK markets somewhat from the overall bearish sentiment expressed in other global wheat markets. As at yesterday’s close, £1= €1.1231 and $1.2424, the lowest levels since news that Parliament is likely to play a large part in the Brexit process broke last Thursday," said the HGCA.

Their Early Bird survey estimates UK rapeseed plantings for next year's harvest are "to fall for the fifth consecutive year" and to a 13-year low of 557k ha, and down 4% on last year.

Where are these extra acres going? Not into wheat where plantings are seen down 1% at 1.8 million ha, and 4% down on the recent 5-year average. Winter barley plantings will decline 9% to 397k ha, they estimate. The recent resurgence in spring barley sowings will continue, with a 17% rise in plantings to 799k ha, they add.

On an EU-wide level French Analysts Strategie Grains forecast EU-28 OSR plantings for next year's harvest up slightly at 6.62 million ha. They said that production in 2016 was 20.12 MMT, down 8.7% year-on-year, with yields down 9.4% at 3.08 MT/ha.

The French Corn Producers Association estimated the size of this year's French corn crop at 12.6 MMT, slightly above the Ag Ministry's 12.5 MMT forecast, but still around 9% down on last year.

Customs data shows that French soft wheat exports in September were down 43% year-on-year at 737 TMT.

Egypt's GASC bought 180,000 MT of Russian wheat and 60,000 MT of Romanian origin material in their latest tender for Dec 10-20 shipment.

Ukraine said that their 2016 harvest had now reached 91% complete at 57.23 MMT. Corn harvesting is 71% done at 18.19 MMT. Winter wheat plantings in Ukraine have now reached 94% complete on 5.84 million ha.

The Russian grain harvest is said to be 95.3% complete at 120.7 MMT. That includes 75.8 MMT of wheat (98.1% harvested) and 19.1 MMT of barley (97% cut). The corn harvest has now reached 64.3% complete at 10.5 MMT.

Russian plantings for the 2017 harvest are 98.8% over on 17.1 million ha.

The Russian Ag Ministry lowered their estimate for the country's 2016/17 grain exports to 35 MMT, of which 28 MMT will be wheat.