Currencies

Currency has remained pretty stable week on week holding at 1.41 against the $ and 1.16 against the €.  The next chance to push those levels again will be as we start to obtain more data on public spending now that additional hospitality has opened.  UK hospitality businesses are pinning their hopes on a summer of staycations, extending into the autumn to give them an extra boost!

Wheat

Grain markets have continued to track lower this week following the USDA report last week which triggered a technical sell off.  Better weather across the globe has helped that `sell off’ mentality continue which has forced both the Liffe & Matiff wheat futures levels to start pushing down through their support levels.  If they manage to break through those then it could mean we might see another sharp movement lower. 

It does feel as though this weather market is now diminishing, which means focus will switch to Chinese level of buying and carryout stocks.  Whilst US farmers have planted more maize over soya, they have still planted less maize than the market had expected, and there is still the issue around the damage to the Brazilian crop.  This means that any delay to that crop will begin to have issues for global maize supplies which would provide support to the wheat markets. 

Soya

Soya has followed the same pattern as corn and wheat to move lower after the recent USDA report.  Better US weather has helped keep prices moving lower but we cannot escape the fact that estimates for planting still stand around 84 million acres, 6 million acres short of where the market said it needed to be to turn the sentiment round and push markets significantly lower. 

Sunflower

There are real concerns over the supply of sunflower products from Europe with Black Sea areas reportedly considering an export ban and Argentinian material already in short supply from a small crop.This means there will be more focus on rapeseed instead which is already trading at record high levels.If this moves higher still then certainly for the UK feed market, soya will begin to come more into use as the better value protein source.Reduced levels of sunflower, and higher levels of soya will mean lower fibre levels in diets, which is disappointing.To force sunflower into the diets just to achieve/maintain current fibre levels will become expensive.

And Finally…
Families evacuated in Southampton after neighbour inadvertently tried to sell live WWII bomb on eBay

An amateur metal detectorist found the bomb in a field near his home in Swaythling, Hampshire and advertised on eBay as ‘Southampton Blitz memorabilia’.  The advert however was seen by a Militeria collector who immediately notified the seller to warn him that it was not deactivated.

The collector also notified police who tracked down the seller, sealed off the road with a 50m cordon and carried out a controlled explosion. 

Millions of these types of incendiary 1kg bombs were dropped on Britain during Germany’s Blitz campaign during WWII.The Southampton Blitz was to specifically target factories in the area who made submarines and spitfires during that period.

Whilst it may seem strange to offer to sell this unexploded ordinance, it does seem even barmier to risk a £4.50 `Economy Delivery’, that might have been a bit too bouncy for safety?

Regards,
Kay Johnson & Martin Humphrey