EU Grains Close
08/08/11 -- EU grains finished with Nov London wheat down GBP2.40/tonne to GBP157.25/tonne and Nov Paris wheat EUR5.25/tonne lower at EUR190.25/tonne.
The global meltdown in commodities and stocks continued into the start of the new week, spurred on by the downgrade to America's credit rating by S&P's. they've also cut their rating on US mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
At the close of play the FTSE100 was 178 points lower, or down 3.4%, the lowest close in more than a year and also the first time in history it has shed more than 100 points in four successive sessions.
Believe it or not that wasn't a bad performance compared to other European stock exchanges, the German DAX fell 5%, with the Paris CAC not too far behind either.
All of this is keeping the grain markets extremely nervous, a London wheat front month has only closed lower than this once in the last ten months. Paris rapeseed didn't escape the carnage, ending EUR14.00/tonne lower on nearby Nov, down 3.3% on the day.
The USDA are out on Thursday with their August world supply and demand numbers. Increases in wheat production estimates are anticipated for the EU, Russia and Ukraine.