The first piece of news to report today is US crop progress as follows:
US CORN CONDITION- 24 PCT GOOD/EXCELLENT, 24 PCT WK AGO, 52 PCT YR AGO -USDA
US CORN – 88 PCT MATURE VS 76 PCT WK AGO VS 57 PCT 5-YR AVG -USDA
US CORN – 39 PCT HARVESTED VS 26 PCT WK AGO VS 13 PCT 5-YR AVG -USDA
US SOYBEANS CONDITION- 35 PCT GOOD/EXCELLENT, 33 PCT WK AGO, 53 PCT YR AGO -USDA
US SOYBEANS – 73 PCT DROPPING LEAVES VS 57 PCT WK AGO VS 59 PCT 5-YR AVG -USDA
US SOYBEANS – 22 PCT HARVESTED VS 10 PCT WK AGO VS 8 PCT 5-YR AVG -USDA
US WINTER WHEAT – 25 PCT PLANTED VS 11 PCT WK AGO VS 27 PCT 5-YR AVG –USDA
Clearly both soybeans and corn are well advanced as evidenced by harvest progress which is at a pace that can only be described as very rapid, and the winter wheat crop is also on target to match five year average planting pace. Expectations are for harvest pace to continue along current lines and finish early.

We could pontificate on early yield data but prefer to await more reliable information at this time – watch this space!

Russia is scheduled to hold a food security meeting later this week which could well pave the way to a clearer direction on their exporting future. The ongoing rise in their domestic flour and wheat prices is bound to have some bearing upon the decisions made.

Australian weather conditions continue to elevate concerns for their final wheat output which is being put at sub 20 million mt by some forecasters.

The UK could well be turning to the US for imports this season as the poor harvest looks as if the domestic balance sheet will be unable to satisfy demand this season.