The UK market continues to be in a state of confusion regarding our wheat crop size, and Brexit. As we enter the final quarter of the cropping year, there is no clarity on the UK wheat crop size. Estimates vary, from DEFRA projecting an area equating to a 13.95 million tonne crop, to the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) survey suggesting a 100,000 hectar...

WHEAT UK wheat prices flatten Domestically, futures and delivered markets remain thin with a large portion of the old-crop market still to play out. Northern feed wheat premiums remain elevated to encourage the trade-flow of grains from further south but, in the main, consumers remain subdued with a 'hand-to-mouth' approach to buying. This said, lo...

Global markets are increasingly focused on weather patterns and the size of the US fund short for fresh direction. Widespread flooding and below average temperatures in the US plains and Midwest remains a flag for growing crops, while warmer forecasted weather could compound the problem as snow-melt will add to ground moisture levels. Conversely, s...

WHEAT Spring is the season of risk Market support has held in wheat markets since the lows of the previous week. Speculators have large bearish positions laid on in grains for crops that are still very exposed to adverse planting and growing conditions as dormancy breaks. The strength of rebound in wheat futures has been largely led by corn as mark...

WHEAT Turbulent wheat markets The world's wheat markets started the week extending their recent downward trend. Speculative fund selling took the US CBOT wheat futures to contract lows on Monday, pulling European and UK wheat futures lower too. Their motivation comes from slow US wheat export pace and expectations for a bounce back in production fo...

World wheat markets continued to move lower at the beginning of the week, extending the trend we have seen since the beginning of 2019. Speculative funds took their short positions to over 120,000 contracts in US wheat futures markets, leaving them technically very oversold and due a bounce. The funds seem driven by the poor US wheat export pace an...

WHEAT UK old crop sinks lower The absence of any significant consumer demand facilitated a further £5/t drop in futures and delivered prices this week. To some extent, this season the UK wheat grower has been sheltered slightly from rock-bottom global prices because of currency but UK markets followed the rest of the world lower this week. Due to t...

​Wheat For the first time in a while, futures markets closed yesterday slightly firmer in the UK, EU and USA despite nothing fundamentally bullish to fuel the support. In the USA, widespread freezing conditions and snow continue to cause logistical issues for the transportation of grains which has increased nearby delivered prices. However, crops u...

WHEAT Negative world markets World markets are currently showing little signs of recovery whilst major exporters compete to win upcoming tenders. Coupled with this, we're also seeing non commercial funds willing to sell wheat lower given the promising outlook of wheat production for 2019. UK finding some support UK markets found support this week f...

WHEATWeak wheat markets Wheat markets made notable losses earlier this week, led lower by US CBOT futures that hit contract lows. By close of business on Wednesday, CBOT losses amounted to 6% and this was partly attributed to US wheat being uncompetitive and missing out on recent export trade. Syria and Bangladesh bought 200,000 tonnes and 50,000 t...

Global markets weaken World wheat markets started notably weaker this week, led lower by the US CBOT wheat futures that dropped to a 13-month low yesterday. The US is failing to secure sufficient trade to help them meet export targets and they need to be more competitive. This was highlighted by recent tenders where both Syria and Bangladesh opted ...

WHEAT Global prices move lower Chicago wheat futures traded at their lowest level since the start of 2019 yesterday and Kansas Corn was no different. Both markets were forced lower by disappointing export data. US wheat sales currently sit 8% behind this time last year as they've struggled to compete with cheap Russian wheat. Matif also closed €3/t...

Friday's USDA report threw us no real surprises in terms of global supply and demand. As a result, the market's focus returned to cash wheat prices around the world. It feels as though the pace of Russian export business is beginning to dwindle, with origins such as the USA, Ukraine and even France beginning compete. This may go some way to making ...

 UK – Market remains flat despite supported global markets UK feed wheat has traded in a narrow range for a month now (£5/t) and while our domestic market is flat, it hides what is happening around the globe. Extreme weather and significant export sales have supported global markets but any follow-on to the UK market has been hampered by a ris...

WHEAT Slow UK trade The domestic wheat market slowed to a crawl this week. A lack of fresh news, combined with sterling strength, saw both old and new crop prices slip lower.Despite Defra's estimate showing a surplus on the UK balance sheet, the old crop premium to new crop remains resolute. Spot feed wheat is trading at £25/t above harvest prices....

UK grain prices are flat as market forces work against one another UK wheat values remain stuck in a narrow range as two major factors continue to cancel each other out. Sterling has firmed from £1.11 to £1.15 versus the euro since 10th January and this should have caused a loss for UK wheat values. Instead, EU markets have been given a lift by con...

WHEAT Firm pound pushes old crop prices lower Brexit uncertainty continues to fuel huge shifts in the value of the pound. This week the pound appreciated significantly against a host of other currencies reaching 1.16 against the Euro, a level which was last seen in May 2017. Domestic demand for old crop remains strong, but if the UK has an exportab...

World markets were quiet on Monday as US trade closed for Martin Luther King Jr Day. This coupled with the continued government shutdown in the US means that there is still no January report from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). This makes for slim reading of key export data which has significant influence over the old crop market at this t...

WHEAT Lost opportunity Domestic wheat markets have given back all of this month's gains during this week. Milling markets have also softened, with notable sellers pressurising the premiums by around £2/t versus feed as markets transit from being bid for weeks to offered. It seems that political uncertainty continues which is putting people off maki...

WHEAT International trade This week we have seen significant international trade, with North African countries making sizeable wheat purchases for delivery during February and March. Initially, Algeria confirmed they were buying 550,000 tonnes of optional origin wheat. This lifted European prices, as the French have supplied over 80% of Algerian im...