Hike in grain exports from Russia, boosted Ukrainian shipments
This development should help alleviate some supply tightness, putting some pressure on markets, said the analysts.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian corn harvest data, up to December 8, showed that only 66% of the crop had been harvested, representing a record slow pace as corn harvesting is typically completed by December. This points to notable war disruption.
However, grain exports out of Ukraine continued to flow over the past few days as a result of the grain corridor, which has now shipped roughly 13.7Mt of grain since August, according to the CRM Agri review.
In terms of weather, Brazil’s Central and Northern regions received a healthy amount of precipitation over the weekend, said the grain and oilseed market specialists.
“NDVI scores improved notably at the start of December, likely providing further supply confidence. That said, weather in Argentina remained unfavorable in recent days, with dry weather forecasts ahead.”
Both UK feed wheat and Paris milling wheat were trading slightly higher yesterday. Moreover, EU corn prices also saw a marginal increase, while US wheat and corn prices started the trading session on a higher note before coming under pressure, they said.
Speculative positions
While still in an overall long position, Managed Money increased their short positions held in US corn last week, while long positions took a hit, noted the analysts.
"Furthermore, speculative positions held in US wheat markets also pointed toward a more bearish sentiment, as Managed Money’s short positions held increased to the highest level since April 2019.
“In terms of soybean markets, both the number of long and short positions held by Managed Money increased by roughly the same amount over the past week, pointing to some conflicting views on markets."
