Chicago saw some bargain buying, but mainly in corn futures. Wheat, at this stage, remains the red headed stepchild and was again forced into the broom closet for another night. Outside markets helped US corn futures too, the punters pushing the Dow to another record high of 40,880, while the FX guys talked about the FED cutting US rates in September.
Interesting to note that the AUD was lower against the greenback regardless of the rate debate. The Aussie economy is now on life support, beyond the help of pitiful subsidies that attempt to take our living standard back to where it was when it was already failing. The question now is will the RBA stay in step with the US FED in rate cuts going forward, allowing the AUD to push lower and stimulate the export industry or will the RBA decide to deal a death blow to the working class of the nation and allow the AUD to push sharply higher. Bit dramatic for a Wednesday morning, sorry, must be the flu pills.
US corn futures and cash prices moved higher. Severe storms saw localised basis increases in some US counties but the move in general was considered bargain hunting by many. US soybean futures were helped higher by spillover support from corn. The strength in the Chicago bean market also helped to see higher closes for both Paris rapeseed futures and Winnipeg canola. The former gaining roughly AUD$4.44 / tonne in the Feb slot while the Jan slot at Winnipeg gained roughly AUD$7.35 / tonne when taking daily moves in the AUD into account.
Wheat futures continued to weaken as the US winter wheat harvest forges ahead, likely passing the 75% complete mark this week. The US spring wheat crop rating improving 2pts in the G/E rating to 77% didn’t help wheat either. Spring wheat in the US is now at 76% in head. Both in the US and Canada the use of fungicides to decrease the risk of head scab has been very high. Quality may yet be the final hurdle for N.American spring wheat and durum crops.
There is the chance of some rain over the weekend for Argentina. It’s not expected to be much, but it may help what wheat has been sown. Conditions in Argentina turned very dry during sowing. Some private estimates for Argie wheat are already 500kt to 1mt lower than the July USDA estimate.