US futures markets drifted lower again in overnight trade. Basically carry over trade from the previous session with the bearish news in the row crops dragging wheat lower.
Crop condition ratings in France remain very good with 92% of the wheat crop there rated as good to excellent. Although this is 1% lower than last week it’s not a bad starting point for spring is it.
Talk of 1-3″ of rain falling across parts of Brazil put a floor in the US soybean market limiting losses to only 4c/bu. Canola futures were sharply lower in Paris though shedding €2.75 on the nearby contract, outer months were weaker but only by €1.25 / tonne. At the ICE Winnipeg canola also slipped shedding C$3.60 on the nearby contract and C$3.20 on the outer months. Many punters are thinking that the expected reduction in durum acres in Canada will result in a sharply larger canola plant.

Good quality wheat traded at A$592 / tonne on the Zhengzhou Commodities exchange (ZCE) in China. This is a deliverable futures contract for 20t lots of grade 3 strong gluten wheat as described in standards GB 1351-2008. Deliveries are into certified delivery warehouses. I’ll spend a bit more time on this trying to determine the deductions applicable to Aussie wheat to try and calculate a benchmark FOB value for a certain grade.