Currencies and grain trading
16 June 1998
Currencies and grain trading
Tuesday, 16 June, 1998
STRONGER Sterling pushed new-crop values lower once again but, with rain over most of the country, old-crop wheat prices remained unchanged . Overall, most crops are reported to be in reasonable condition.
In the USA, 18% of heat has been harvested, compared with 5% a year ago. This has pushed Chicago futures to finish 2¢/bushel off seven-year lows.
Traders are now talking of an aggressive start to the new-crop campaign, with both the EU and USA looking to secure quantities of early business. USDA
has allocated $550 million to their EEP for the coming campaign, compared with $150m last year. This would suggest the USA is in a position to undercut EU prices if it needs to.
Prices at Mondays
wheat futures close:
MONTH
Close
Change
JUL
75.00
+0.50
SEP
74.15
-0.60
NOV
76.15
-0.60
JAN
78.15
-0.60
MAR
80.15
-0.60
MAY
82.15
-0.60
Approximate commodity
values, £/ tonne, ex-farm:
June Class 1 milling 115
June feed wheat 70
June feed barley 65
Harvest feed wheat 66
Harvest barley 62