The AUD is sharply lower against most of our major trading partners today. Being -1.69% against the Indian rupee we should see some upside in local chickpea values here today. NCDEX Jan 18 chickpea futures were a little firmer but the move in the AUD alone could account for as much as a AUD$16.00 / tonne improvement.
The market was disappointed with the Australian inflation number. The retail sector is doing it tough (der) and the spike in electricity and gas prices have hurt the economy, it takes 3 months of research to figure this stuff out you know. The increase in domestic energy prices is making local inflation look a little better than it should but this is expected to be short term. At the end of the day the data should take interest rate hikes and a stronger AUD off the table for the short to midterm.

International values saw US futures weaker thanks mainly to harvest pressure and the higher US dollar. Technical trade supported US wheat futures but the reality of the world being “awash” with wheat continues to cap any advances. Longer term we see wheat prices below the cost of production in most advanced nations bar the Black Sea where the recent decline in currency has enabled the likes of Russia and the Ukraine to make grain profitable to their farmers while also undercutting the other major exporters.
PDQ saw the average price for 1CWAD13 durum in SW Saskatchewan relatively unchanged yesterday at C$267 for a January 18 sale and delivery. These kind of values still indicate that current Australian prices are well below where they should be.