European market

The start of the week saw a renewed firmness in cereal prices.

Wheat prices on Euronext are back to the highest levels traded since last summer. The September 2024 maturity traded at €259.75/t for the highest of the last session. There are growing concerns about the situation in Russia. Production could be further reduced by the damage caused by the recent cold snap, following the deterioration already seen due to dry conditions in the south of the country. This has led to renewed volatility and doubts about the coming season. Operators are following the weather forecasts with great interest.

Against this backdrop of firm wheat prices, the prices of other cereals are rising, albeit to a lesser extent. Corn prices, for which sowing is progressing in France, are back trading at last autumn's highs above €220/t for the August deadline. The price gap between feed grains (corn, barley, etc.) and milling wheat remains wide.

Oilseed prices are also rising, but more moderately than those for cereals. Despite this, prices are also back to their highs, trading at levels comparable to those seen for new crops in last August.

American market

Continuing the upward momentum seen after Friday's USDA monthly report, wheat prices in Chicago rose again yesterday. The price of September SRW wheat climbed back above $7.00/bu to its highest level for 9 months. In this period of weather market on the American market, fears linked to the impact of the recent cold spell on Russian crops are putting renewed pressure on prices, even though the USDA announced on Friday that Russian production potential for the coming harvest was 88 Mt. Funds have been returning to buying positions for several consecutive sessions.

In the face of rising wheat prices, corn prices have also risen, but less sharply. The progress of corn planting is reassuring, with 49% of the area now planted, up +13 points on the previous week. However, both old and new crop US corn are back to their highest levels since mid-January. The July 2024 old-crop maturity in Chicago is back above $4.70/bu and the December 2024 maturity above $4.90/bu.

Despite a rise also seen on the soybean market yesterday, prices are still trading below the recent highs seen last week. Sowings in the USA are still progressing, up +10 points on last week, with 35% of acreage in place.