Monday Market Briefing - 9th December 2024

It’s beginning to feel a bit like Christmas in our markets as focused shifts to tidying up contracts as we head into 2025.  The ongoing battle to get consumers to take their contracts this season rolls on. Unfortunately there will be some purchases rolled into the new year, but rest assured we are doing our best avoid this scenario.

Grains finished last week gently supported but the general apathy to any bullish dynamic will prohibit any meaningful gains.

France’s political woes has put the skids on the Euro, now at its weakest against Sterling and the Dollar since Spring 22. Euro weakness will help wheat imports and apply further pressure to our be leagued malting markets, let’s hope Sterling is stronger next autumn when we will be an exporter.

Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter, will raise its wheat export duty by almost 32%, as the country seeks to curb exports in the face of high inflation and potential supply crunch due to the poor state of winter crops. The duty has been climbing since mid-August from a level as low as 257 roubles ($2.60) to 4,871.5 roubles per ton, but so far has failed to hinder exports, which have been proceeding at a near record pace in recent months.  The duty hike also comes as leaked data from the state weather forecasting agency showed that over 37% of winter crops are in poor condition or have not sprouted due to a low level of moisture in the ground

Bulgaria has hit it out of the park this season with 73% of its wheat crop of milling quality ( the best for 10 years) and now firmly finding it’s place on our supermarket bread aisle.

Have a good week