Chicago corn futures broke a seven session losing streak and finally found some support from the bargain hunters. Wheat struggled, closing slightly lower in the outer months while US soybean futures were mixed but generally unchanged nearby to higher on the outer months. Canola and rapeseed futures ran their own race with the ICE canola contract slipping a little while Paris rapeseed was firmer.

US wheat futures had to fight against a better than expected USDA crop progress report which estimated the amount of the US winter wheat crop rated Good to Excellent at 62%, well above trade expectations. Kansas HRWW was rated at 49% G/E, Oklahoma a whopping 74% G/E and Texas came in at 62%. All are very good ratings apart from Kansas which was probably just a little low. The recent cold weather across NW Kansas may have resulted in some winter kill but it may take 10 days before these expectations can be confirmed.
No major cereal cropping region in the US is in bad shape at present.

The Aussie dollar will be a thorn in our side today with overnight moves pegging the local currency firmer again all the majors. The move in the AUD alone is worth around AUD$5.00 per tonne against SRW futures. The strength in the AUD was blamed by some on the RBA and their recent statement which hinted to less bond buy backs than they had previously anticipated. This saw the punters grabbing some cheap Aussie dollars for the short term. Let’s see if the RBA can reverse that sentiment in coming days, they need to.