Currencies and grain trading

11 August 1998

Currencies and grain trading

Tuesday, 11 August, 1998

• £1=DM2.909 / FFr9.756 / $1.632
  
  
• French FOB spot wheat value: FFr 725 (£ 74.31)
  
  
• Chicago September wheat at close: $2.56 (£ 57.56)

UK futures closed lower as Sterling strengthened and spot wheat in East Anglia lost the early premiums of last week. Most new-crop wheats are now showing signs of better quality and quantity than last year, but there is still a long way to go. The Class 1 milling premium stands at around £15-16/ t on the forward market, with Class 2 milling trading at around £7/ t over feed. The French crop could be higher than recently predicted, at over 38m tonnes.