• Today’s CBOT market has displayed evidence of pre USDA report jitters with short covering very much in evidence and prices responded accordingly – soybean complex and corn higher whilst wheat levels eased slightly. Notably, end user buyers were in evidence particularly on nearby positions – presumably “just in case” the USDA springs a surprise!

• London and Paris wheat markets showed lower closes once again, despite a rain stalled harvest in France, and their yield and quality reports continue to improve. Similar reports of improved quality are coming from southern Germany and Baltic states which should encourage, however Black Sea quality reports are less encouraging as specific weight numbers appear to be lower than usual.

• The USDA has today released its weekly export figures as detailed below:

Wheat; 726,200 mt which is above estimates of 500,000-700,000 mt.
Corn; 511,000 mt which is within estimates of 450,000-900,000 mt.
Soybeans; 1,097,000 mt which is within estimates of 700,000-1,100,000 mt.
Soybean Meal; 135,600 mt which is below estimates of 160,000-290,000 mt.
Soybean Oil; 2,500 mt which is within estimates of zero to 15,000 mt.

• Brussels has this week granted export licences totalling 396,161 mt, which brings the season total to 2.104 million mt. This is 912 kmt ahead of last season (76%).

• The current US weather outlook continues to favour crop development and we see little in the immediate future to change this viewpoint. In addition Brazil’s CONAB has added 1.2 million mt to its latest 2012/13 corn crop, now put at 80.3 million mt. This is some 3.3 million mt higher than the USDA’s latest estimate, and coupled with a forecast of increased soybean acres this autumn can only add to non-bullish sentiment.