Cash bids in SW Saskatchewan were softer for spring wheat and flat to softer for durum. Canola also saw nearby prices slip away. Canadian canola is interesting, the dynamics changed dramatically when China placed trade bans on Canadian product. The market reacted by reducing acres but also finding alternative markets. It’s interesting because one thing that did occur was the redirection of canola which simply meant that Canadian canola was still being consumed in China but instead of being crushed in China it was being crushed in the UAE and being exported to China as oil by the UAE. One might come to the conclusion that the UAE was the beneficiary of the whole deal, and if anything China was losing the crush margin.
Durum in SW Saskatchewan was bid at C$261.91 ex farm for a December lift. On the back of an envelope this would equate to a DR1 number at Newcastle port of roughly AUD$387. Aussie durum will attract a premium over Canadian durum due to better HVK and extraction. So we are probably pretty close to the right number (if not a little under) with cash bids here at around $392 port.

In the USA we have the WASDE report due out on the 12th so don’t expect much more than some trade squaring to occur today. After the close last night the weekly crop progress report was released by the USDA. Corn was back 1% to 71% G/E, Iowa is 9% dented, 66% dough stage. Soybeans were up 1% in the G/E rating to 74%. 70% of the US sorghum crop is in head and is rated at 58% G/E, it’s been an average to tough season for sorghum in the south. It does help explain the current new crop sorghum price here a little too.