Currencies and grain trading

13 August 1998

Currencies and grain trading

Thursday, 13 August, 1998

• £1=DM2.915 / FFr9.775 / $1.629
  
  
• French FOB spot wheat value: FFr 765 (£ 78.26)
  
  
• Chicago September wheat at close: $2.58 (£ 57.18)

FRENCH wheat farmers are celebrating the crop of the century. Yesterday (Wednesday) the countrys top grain region reported a hike in output that smashes official records. France had already forecast an historic crop of 36 million tonnes, and it now looks likely to top that by a further million. France is the second biggest wheat exporter after the USA, and this adds to the perception of big supplies on the world market.