EU Grains Closing Comments - Tuesday

06/12/16 -- EU grains closed mostly mixed. Paris wheat rebounded from yesterday's contract lows and rapeseed marched on to new highs.

At the close Jan 17 London wheat was down GBP0.50/tonne at GBP135.20/tonne, Dec 16 Paris wheat was EUR3.00/tonne higher at EUR159.50/tonne, Jan 17 Paris corn was EUR0.25/tonne firmer at EUR163.00/tonne and Feb 17 Paris rapeseed was up EUR1.50/tonne to EUR414.00/tonne.

Rapeseed continues to hit new highs, with prices currently at their best levels since April 2014, on reduced production and stocks this year and concerns already over the state of autumn plantings in countries like the UK, France and Ukraine.

Strong demand for soybeans is adding support for rapeseed, along with steady global soybean and palm oil prices.

Tunisia were said to have bought 117,000 MT of soft wheat for Jan/Feb shipment in a tender, along with 55,000 MT of feed barley, both of optional origin. Traders surmise that the wheat may have been most likely of Argentine or Russian origin.

Romania reported that it's 2016 corn harvest was down 5.6% on last year at 8.47 MMT due to a dry summer. That's also 25% below the bumper crop achieved in 2014.

Kazakhstan said that they'd produced a 23.68 MMT in bunker weight, or 21 MMT in clean weight, grain crop this year. Wheat production will account for around 16 MMT of that clean weight total (the USDA are currently at 16.5 MMT). The USDA issue revised global S&D estimates on Friday.

Ikar cut their Russian wheat export forecast from 29 MMT to 28.5 MMT (USDA: 30.0 MMT) citing unfavorable weather and its impact on logistics, and intensified competition.

"When the USDA first posited the export number for Russia it said it was a very aggressive number that required near perfection to achieve," said FCStone.

Still, if they don't export it this year it will still be there as carryover stocks running into 2017/18.

The Russian Ag Ministry said that this year's wheat harvest was 98.2% complete at 75.9 MMT. Corn harvesting is 85.8% complete at 14.6 MMT.

Ukraine said that it had exported a record more than 1.35 MMT of corn in October, and has the potential to ship out around 18 MMT in total this season, some 9% more than in 2015/16.