WHEAT Quiet markets drift Fresh market features have been lacking this week and, helped by firmer sterling, UK wheat prices have dropped to a four-week low. Consumers have good cover through to the new year and with port stores bulging with imported wheat and maize, any short term price improvement looks unlikely. Bull traders continue to look to R...

WHEAT UK markets UK wheat markets have traded defensively this week. Demand continues to be serviced by the market in an orderly fashion, keeping prices and milling premiums subdued. This comes even as the pace of farm gate selling slows significantly, in part due to the ideal drilling conditions this week. DEFRA figures The market has now had time...

This blog was first featured as an article in the October issue of Three Counties Farmer: There are few jobs that could be classed as 24/7, 365 days a year but farming is one of them. For those who sell their combinable crops, the grain market is ever changing and the global markets also sit within this 'open all hours' bracket. We often draw paral...

WHEAT  Demand for UK feed narrows premiums Consumer demand for feed wheat leant support to UK prices this week, with futures and physical grain trading up £4-£5 over the five days. Strong demand from the pig and poultry sectors, as well as ruminants, pushed some feed compounders to consider current lower prices as a 'buy.' Pitched against a we...

WHEAT  Slow trade This week's wheat market has moved in a very narrow trading range, seeing no fresh features of note giving any particular price direction. The USDA will publish their quarterly stocks report late this afternoon after we go to print, which is expected to reinforce bearish carry out figures for US grains. Final 2017/18 UK balan...

World markets: Chicago wheat futures closed slightly lower on Friday but still showed a net gain of 2% on the week. After starting lower early last week, wheat fought back with gains driven by more bad weather in Australia and rising black sea prices. The US spring wheat harvest is nearly finished, now at 97% complete and winter wheat plantings are...

WHEAT  Market reactions UK markets fought back this week with £5/t gains on London wheat futures, reversing the downward trend seen for the majority of the past month. Global markets galvanised support from the less-than-ideal harvesting conditions in the Russian spring wheat area, as well as dry and unseasonably cold temperatures hitting the ...

World markets: US wheat futures continued to slide yesterday. The fund sell off that started with the USDA report last Wednesday night has continued into the start of this week, keeping the negative tone in wheat markets. The trade war between the US and China has returned to the headlines, as President Trump imposes new tariffs on the equivalent o...

WHEAT  USDA report sets a bearish scene; Wednesday's much anticipated USDA report shocked the trade, with significant increases to US corn yields well above the average trade estimates released before the report. Global corn production was also increased to 1,069 million tonnes. Although not directly related to wheat prices, this 35 million to...

World markets: US wheat dropped sharply after yesterday's United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) report; corn numbers were the biggest driver in grains and the numbers were very bearish. US corn yields were raised to 181.3 bushels per acre which was well above the trade's estimates. Eight states were seen as producing record yields and this...

World markets: US wheat started the week stronger yesterday, supported by a downgrade to the Australian crop from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) and more speculation about possible Russian export restrictions. US exports are currently running 31% down from last year's pace – a restriction to Russi...

WHEAT  Wheat prices on the slide London wheat futures lost £8 per tonne this week, slipping to seven-week lows as the bullish rivers ran dry. Russia chose not to introduce any restrictions to their wheat exports and this has been the catalyst for a wave of long liquidation on world futures markets. However, it is likely that this issue will re...

World Markets: The US was closed yesterday for their Labor Day holiday, but traded lower on the overnight session following news from Russia that counteracted last week's ideas of export restrictions. The Russian Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday that they do not consider it necessary to introduce export duties or restrictions but they are con...

World Markets: US wheat started last week lower, pressured by funds exiting long positions in wheat. However, midweek saw some support come back into the market, lifting it to a higher close over the week. The lift came from Russia's announcement to cap wheat exports at 25 million tonnes and an all-grains total of 30 million tonnes. The USDA curren...

WHEAT  Price shift predictions The decline in prices over the past fortnight has been halted this week, with UK levels re-bounding some £5/t at the farm gate. A finely balanced UK supply (alongside ongoing concerns about how the global flow of wheat will be maintained from Russia, the current cheapest origin) continues to cause nervousness amo...

World Markets US wheat has been falling sharply this week. Yesterday, losses were smaller but direction was still downwards. US funds had built up significant long positions in Chicago wheat and have been selling heavily to reduce these longs. Australia had some rain over the weekend which can only be a good thing, although there are mixed reports ...

WHEAT  UK prices under further pressure London futures fell a further £8/t this week on harvest news and the prospect of heavy imports in the coming months. Until recently, the UK was pricing at import parity in order to balance a tight supply situation and the weight of this is now being felt. Add to this the predictable pressure that comes w...

WHEAT  Politics helps wheat prices jump higher Wheat prices have recently enjoyed a major price rally gaining £40/t since the middle of June. Markets have been driven higher by adverse weather impacting on crops and cutting output for most of the world's major exporting countries. However, the USDA report last week triggered a sell off and UK ...

 World Markets US wheat fell yesterday following the negative impact of Friday's bearish USDA report. The USDA was expected to reduce global wheat production significantly in light of numerous downgrades from other regions over recent weeks. In the end, global wheat production was revised on Friday evening but only down by 6.6 million mt. Aust...

WHEAT  Supportive markets Wheat markets continued the supportive tone for the early part of the week, fuelled by further concerns over production in various regions in the world. Australia is the latest country to further reduce its likely output, with some suggestions of this year's crop being nearer 16 million tonnes versus 21 million last y...