The lower yields and area of this year’s EU rapeseed crop are starting to ripple through the markets. Nearby MATIF futures closed above €380 for the first time since June last year on Monday night and continued higher on Tuesday night.
With dry weather hindering planting and emergence across some parts of the EU markets do appear to be responding as do the farmers to the east with big sowing increases across the Ukraine. If the EU completes sowing they should see around 6.7mha in the ground compared to 6.53mha last year.

US grain markets were mixed, generally sideways ahead of this week’s USDA report. Wheat futures were mixed but with a few showers expected to help the emerging HRW crop it was the weakest of the three exchanges. Both soft wheat and spring wheat in the states found a little support to close higher. Spring wheat from fundamental news and SRW from fund short covering ahead of this week’s report.
The USDA crop condition report came out after the close and showed corn condition unchanged and the harvest pace at 35% a few percent behind the 5 year average. Soybeans were at 44% off compared the 47% Avg, the condition rating for beans was also unchanged. Cotton harvest is a little above the average pace but the rating was back 1% in the Good / Excellent range.