EU Grains Closing Comments

Nov London wheat closed GBP2.15 lower at GBP129.00/tonne; Nov Paris wheat ended down EUR4.25 at EUR172.50/tonne; Nov Paris corn was down EU4.00 at EUR168.75/tonne; Nov Paris rapeseed closed EUR8.25 lower at EUR362/tonne; Nov Paris malting barley rose EUR0.50 to EUR189.00/tonne.

It's been a pretty stunning week all round, with Nov London wheat gaining an even GBP10/tonne, and Nov Paris wheat EUR11.50/tonne.

Lower crop forecasts are still emanating from Russia on an almost daily basis, with leading analysts SovEcon today reducing their grain crop estimate to "lower than 75 MMT" compared to last season's crop of 97 MMT.

We've also seen significant production cuts this week in Ukraine, Hungary, Romania and Kazakhstan.

It's still a little too early to have an accurate angle on EU-27 wheat production, but crop losses here now seem to be heavily factored into existing price levels.

In the UK the weather has finally turned cooler and wetter, although how much benefit will be derived from that at this late stage in crop development is open to debate. Early barley harvesting is underway with average yields of around 6 MT/ha being reported.