We did not see any major outliers in the last trading session. On the wheat market, it was a matter of deliberation between all the reports about yield expectations and export figures. Most of the activity was in the soybean market, which was briefly sharpened by the first results from the Pro Farmer Crop Tour.
The September wheat contract on the Matif closed €1 lower yesterday, reaching €228,25 per tonne. In Chicago, wheat inched up 0,4% to $6.01¾ a bushel. Corn and soy were down last trading session. Corn closed 0,6% lower at $4.66½ per bushel and soy was down minus 1,4% at $13.51½ per bushel.
Early this morning (Wednesday, August 23), Russia carried out new drone attacks on targets in Ukraine. The targets were ports in the south of Odessa and at the mouth of the Danube. Ukrainian military authorities confirm that at least one grain store has caught fire. Due to quick and decisive action by the fire brigade, the fire did not spread to other facilities, the Ukrainian authorities report. The collapse of the Black Sea grain deal has made the ports on the Danube the main route for Ukrainian grain exports.
Despite the cancellation of the grain deal, Ukraine's wheat exports are continuing relatively well. This season, up to August 21, the country has exported 1,46 wheat, which is 64% more than last year. Market agency SovEcon has increased the estimated Russian wheat harvest by 5 million tons to 92,1 million tons. That is well above the forecast in the USDA's latest Wasde report, which puts the Russian harvest at 85 million tons.
Slow European wheat exports
European wheat exports this season are lagging behind a year ago. The EU has exported some 20 million tons of wheat through August 4,06, up from 5,12 million last season. Yesterday it was announced that the Egyptian state buyer Gasc has purchased 60.000 tons of wheat in a tender in Romania for $256 per ton, delivered to the port of Constanta. The German wheat harvest this season is lower than last year's 43 million tons. The cause is the wet months of July and August. This not only has consequences for the yield, but also for the quality. Shot and low hectoliter weights pose a serious problem.
In the US, the figures from the Crop Progress report were still having an impact. Spring wheat is in worse shape than expected and that provided support on the market. The first results of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour came out yesterday. Corn and soybean yields in the western states visited by the tour were better than expected. The tour heads east and it is expected that drought has hit worse there. Experts are therefore cautious about drawing too many conclusions from the initial results.