EU Wheat Close
25/08/11 -- EU grains finished higher with Nov London wheat up GBP0.95/tonne to GBP169.95/tonne and Nov Paris wheat EUR2.00/tonne firmer at EUR208.75/tonne.
Grains gained late in the day after US wheat futures turned higher after what had been a relatively subdued low volume session.
Egypt snubbed US and French wheat once again to book three cargoes of Russian wheat for October delivery and one each of Russian and Romanian wheat for November delivery.
The German farmers association Deutscher Bauernverband, or DBV, said that this year's grain harvest would be 12% down on 2010 at 39 MMT, with the wheat crop down by a similar percentage to 21 MMT.
The HGCA say that the UK wheat harvest is 70% complete and that yields are improving as it progresses onto heavier land further north. Overall yields are estimated at 7.5-7.7 MT/ha, just under the 5 year average, they say.
Winter barley harvesting is 99% done, with spring barley progress standing at 45%, they add.
Brussels issued soft wheat export licences for 326,000 MT this past week bring the marketing YTD total to 1.83 MMT, 30% down on where we were eight weeks into the campaign a year ago. Imports stand higher than exports at 2.2 MMT.
The pound is looking set to close at a one month low against the euro, which in theory is supportive for UK wheat, although other origins are still more competitive.