- The week starts with slightly firmer grains (corn and wheat) and a slightly weaker soybean complex.
- Saudi Arabia is reported to have purchased 715,000 mt of wheat in its latest tender, shipment is scheduled for April to June 2014. The origins are not known, but Europe, N and S America and Australia were the acceptable origins in the tender. This purchase marks another large transaction following in the wake of last week’s spree.
- The Brazilian soybean crop is reported to be 3% harvested, and increase from 1% last week and compares with 2% last year.
- The easing of controls in Argentina, announced last week, have seen the finance minister backtrack on details. It seems that the tax rate on US dollar credit card purchases, which was supposed to be reducing from 35% to 20%, will not now be happening. The tax was levied last year in advance of the holiday season, and was aimed at stemming the flow of the US currency out of Argentina. The woes befalling the Argentine Peso have been widely reported, and Friday’s black market rate (US$/Peso) moved from 11.8 to 13 on the back of last week’s news whilst the official rate held steady at 8.0.
- The US weather continues cold (bitterly so in many areas) and will likely provide some price support. Our view remains that such a situation will provide selling opportunities.