Wheat futures in the US closed the session higher. This represented a week on week gain from last Fridays for both HRWW and spring wheat but a week on week decline for soft red winter wheat. In Aussie dollar terms we see SRWW down AUD$5.33, HRWW up AUD$3.28, DNS up AUD$6.15. White wheat values out of the US Pacific Northwest flew under the radar somewhat, a week on week gain of AUD$20.

Global focus remains on the Black Sea and the continuation of the grain export corridor out of Ukraine. The extreme dry across SE and parts of central China, and the continuing drought in Argentina. 14-day precipitation across much of Europe, Ukraine and Russia remains very good. Dry pockets still persist around southern Italy and SE France and parts of Turkey but generally the EU block is looking much better than it was during the first month or two of summer.
Summer crop sowing has slowed in Argentina as many producers wait to see further rain before starting to sow summer crops.
In China rice production is likely to be hit hard in the SE, late rice hardly seeing a decent fall and contracting irrigation potential. The dry is now extending into the NE as well, the heart of Chinese winter wheat production. With sowing commencing now and continuing throughout October, rainfall now is crucial for crop establishment. The central northeast provinces of Henan, Shandong, Anhui, Hubei, Hebei and Shanxi grow in excess of 60% of the Chinese winter wheat and barley crop. The 30-day precipitation map shows much of that region has only seen 40-50% of average rainfall. Further south, where it is drier, 30-day totals are worse, around 20-40% of average, rainfall there totalling just 0 t0 25mm. This lack of rainfall happening while temperatures averaged some 5C above normal, and are still persisting in the mid to high 30’sC.