The rally on the grain market does not continue on the first trading day of the new week. On the futures market in Paris, wheat took a step back while in Chicago a modest plus was noted. Cheap wheat from the Black Sea region puts a ceiling on the market. In the US, farmers have started threshing grain corn, according to the new edition of the Crop Progress report.
The September wheat contract on the Matif closed yesterday €5 lower at €194. The December contract, which is the most traded, held up better, losing €0,75 to close at €218 per tonne. On the CBoT, grains closed in the green. Wheat gained 0,4% to $5.55½ per bushel. Corn rose modestly to 0,1% to $3.84¼ per bushel. Soybeans closed at a round figure of $10.00 per bushel. That is an increase of 1,1%.
The supply of relatively cheap Black Sea wheat is putting pressure on prices in Europe. Market bureau Ikar lowered the quotation for Russian wheat by $1 to $215 per tonne. SovEcon increased the range by $1 to $218 to $221 per tonne. In short, prices for Russian wheat remain fairly stable and the increase on the western futures markets is not being followed by the Russian bear. According to some analysts, Black Sea wheat is thus putting a ceiling on the market.
Egypt still has the tender to secure 3,8 million tons of wheat open, according to several sources confirmed by the minister in charge of the Egyptian state purchasing agency Gasc. Egypt has so far only purchased 300.000 tons in this tender and is therefore still looking for 3,5 million wheat. The country on the Nile is open to cooperation from all suppliers and state-owned companies, it is reported.
Started with corn
In the US, the spring wheat harvest is progressing well. 85% of the area has been threshed, according to the new edition of the USDA Crop Progress report. The five-year average is 83%. Barley is 89% harvested, compared to 87% in the five-year average and 86% last season. Preparations for the new harvest are also underway. 6% of the planned area of winter wheat has now been sown. The five-year average is 6% and last year this week 5% was sown.
The US corn status has been revised slightly downward by the USDA. 64% of the area is rated good or excellent, compared to 55% last week. For comparison: last season 52% was rated good or excellent. The condition of soybeans has remained the same at 65%. The harvest of corn has started. As of September 8, 5% of the area has been threshed. The five-year average is 3% and last season 4% was harvested. 29% of the corn in the US is ripening according to the USDA. The threshing of soybeans has yet to begin and is not yet included in this week's Crop Progress report. That will not take much longer. A quarter of the soybean area is shedding leaves and ripening.