Morning Snippets

It's Budget Day, which might mean a volatile afternoon for the pound. New Chancellor George Osborne has his work cut out, there are some reports that he may increase VAT from 17.5% to 20%, or reduce the rules as to which items are exempt from VAT, like children's clothes.

The weather is the US is ruffling a few feathers, with hot and dry conditions in the Mississippi Delta seeing Louisiana soybeans rated good/excellent fall 16 points in a week. Planting progress was slow this past week, most notably in Ohio, where only 84% of the soybean crop is in the ground, the crop is normally fully planted by now.

Australia are the latest country to accuse the US of dumping biodiesel on it's doorstep and niftily claiming two sets of subsidies as it goes. Where have we heard that one before?

Harvesting is underway in Ukraine, with 88,500 ha of barley (producing 237,000 MT) cut as of June 21st, according to the Ag Ministry. A small amount of wheat and rapeseed has also bee harvested, they add.

Japan are looking for 125,500 MT of wheat in their usual weekly tender, of which 90,000 MT will be US origin.