After the clear red signs of the previous week, the wheat market showed signs of recovery at the start of the week. The most traded May contract closed with an increase of 1.75 euros at 193.25 euros/t. However, Friday's losses were not made up. With a view to the coming harvest, producers in this country are hoping for drier weather in the spring so that they can sow summer cereals. In northern Germany in particular, many areas are currently not accessible. There is currently only speculation about possible overwintering damage and rotting damage due to the floods; reliable statements are not yet available. Overall, market observers across Europe are less optimistic about the 2024/25 harvest. Many areas in France and Eastern Europe are also very wet, and in Germany the area under cultivation for grain is declining significantly overall. As the analysis house IKAR reports, Russian export prices have fallen again by a significant 12 US dollars/t to now 203 US dollars/t. Yesterday we also headed north at the CBoT. The closing out of short positions is primarily blamed for the increase, and the previous week's losses may have attracted investors again. Last week's US export inspections revealed a shipment volume of 353,000 tons, another 130,000 tons less than the week before. Australia is likely to have a slightly larger wheat harvest. The country in the southern hemisphere has recently benefited from better weather developments. The Ministry of Agriculture there increased its own forecast by 0.5 million tons to 26.0 million tons. Nevertheless, the very strong result of the previous year will not be achieved. This morning there is still no clear trend visible in pre-market computerized trading on the CBoT.
Source
VR AGRICULTURE
