With the Memorial Day holiday in the US giving the majority of the speculative community the day off we do not get any direction from the US futures markets today. Instead we have to look to Europe for guidance who are also down a player as England also took the day off to celebrate Whit Monday, or since 1971, May Bank Holiday when the name was changed as to not offend anyone, not that anyone’s knew what Whit Monday was anyway. By now you have probably realised there is little to no news to talk about in the international grain markets this morning and that I must be very impressed about clawing through market wires since 6am.

Looking at world prices that are available I see high grade durum is still bid up to C$8.00 / bu in Saskatchewan, that’s roughly $290 ex farm to you and me. I can find another wire telling me durum is only worth C$266 there, this one is based off 1CWAD at 13% protein. Either way when stacked up to our own value of A$290 XF we see the real profit in grain trading is in logistics not grain as there is a difference of roughly $55 between getting Aussie and Canadian durum to the same buyer in north Africa or Southern Europe according to the back of my envelope. So there you go, it’s not the persecuted grain trader that is keeping your basis premium it’s those pesky freight traders………….  -_- .  Paris wheat +€0.75, corn -€1.50 and rapeseed futures were up €0.75.