Monday Market Briefing - 12th September 2022

It seemed as if time itself stopped on Thursday with the sad news of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. In the hours that followed, conversations with our International customers- all expressing their own sadness and sympathy -  vividly illustrated just how far reaching her enormous influence has been. We now know the State Funeral, the first to be held since Sir Winston Churchills in 1965, will take place on Monday 19th September on which date Bartholomews will be closed for the day for all business.

Markets had a positive week , breaking out of recent ranges on Friday. The deal which enables grain to be shipped from the Black Sea is up for renewal soon and Russia loudly expressed frustration that its terms are not being met as cargoes leaving Ukraine are not going to destinations of greatest need. The possibility of the deal breaking down sent us higher but in truth Russia needs it to continue as they struggle to maintain their own export pace for what is increasingly looking like a record wheat crop. Looks like a selling opportunity to me.

The impact of the UK Govts decision to pay everyone’s gas bills is harder to judge. This pumps more money into our economy in the short term and should boost activity and hence demand for grains but we probably need to see how Europe acts to understand the full picture. The pace of farm selling has increased and we will soon start to see the  first signs of pre- Christmas markets filling up unless demand improves from where we are right now.

Have a good week.