European Grain Markets
- Matif’s wheat found support from news of drought-threatening production in Ukraine and Argentina but was limited somewhat by the euro’s recovery against the dollar. A ship hit by a mine in the Black Sea also gave the bulls new strength in the grain markets along with new Russian attacks on Ukrainian targets.
- Corn on the Paris exchange, however, failed to take enough advantage of the situation and closed marginally higher.
- Rapeseed lost positions yesterday, pressured by the further decline in crude oil prices, which allowed the November futures to fall below support levels.
American Grain Markets
- News in the Black Sea allowed CBOT wheat to rally despite weak U.S. export sales data last week. It also found further support from technical factors and weekly data showing continued dryness in some of the major winter wheat growing areas. About half of the U.S. winter wheat production areas are dry.
- Chicago corn rose supported by strong US export sales data last week as well as a rise in competing wheat.
- Soybean prices also rose yesterday. Real exports of 671 Kt were the highest in six months, which together with news of a shortage of soybeans at Argentine processors allowed the price to correct up slightly.
Black Sea Grain Markets
- A Turkish-flagged cargo ship in the Black Sea suffered minor damage as a result of an incident off the coast of Romania. Maritime and security sources reported that the crew was safe. British-based maritime safety company Ambrey reported that the ship hitting the mine, anchored for a short time to check the damage and then continued on its way. This incident was recorded as one of the rare cases of ships hitting mines in the Black Sea during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Insurers consider the Black Sea as a high-risk area and mines in the sea continue to be a source of concern.
- Romania has taken decisive steps to regulate imports of agricultural products from Ukraine and Moldova, and only licensed Romanian farmers and processors will be allowed to carry out such imports. Florin Barbu, Romania’s Minister of Agriculture, announced these significant measures in a post on his Facebook page, noting that these conditions will apply equally to the import of agricultural products from the two countries mentioned. This act is now waiting to receive the green light from the Romanian Government.
- Russian Black Sea ports reported a 30 percent increase in wheat exports to 1 million tons for the week ended Oct. 4, but October exports are expected to fall due to weaker demand. Wheat exports for October 2023 are forecast at 4.5 million tonnes, down from 5.5 million in September and 4.9 million tonnes a year earlier.