AWB market update

Wheat closed out last week slightly lower, again following the lead of CBOT corn which pushed lower in lighter trading ahead of the weekend.

The Northern Hemisphere harvest is beginning to wind up, with France being all but done at 90% complete, and the Russian harvest moving at a solid pace, with significantly improved yields and progress compared to this point of last season. Finally, adding pressure is the continued unrest and violence in Egypt, which is taking no part in the market, as is China, conspicuous by its absence in recent tenders.

Chicago wheat for Sept 2013 is 6½ cents lower at 631 US cents a bushel.

Corn, after a reasonably strong week of action, lost some of its momentum and closed lower in Chicago on Friday. With the forecast for the Corn Belt this week looking dry and hot, concerns in regard to crop stress as a result continue to circulate. With the crop tour beginning this week, it is anticipated that the market will be keeping a keen eye on reports from this tour with respect to a market direction.

Chicago corn for Sept 2013 is 7¾ cents lower at 473¾ US cents a bushel.

Canola, in keeping with the trends above, closed out the week with minor losses in Winnipeg, following the lead of Chicago soybeans and soyoil, themselves also closing lower. Further to this, with positive weather conditions in the Prairies expected to support faster crop development, the long-term view is that Canada may be on track for a record crop. Also bringing down immediate prices on Friday was an increase in farmer selling, though improved demand from crush and a lower Canadian dollar helped to limit the losses.

Winnipeg Canola for Nov 2013 is $2.00 lower at $500.60 Canadian dollars per tonne.

The Australian dollar is currently trading at 0.9192 USD.