Currencies
The £ has made gains this week breaking 1.37 against the $ and up to 1.14 against the € which had both previously been resistance levels. The $ is beginning to find some strength now that Biden has been sworn in over hopes that he will begin to get more of a handle on the countries Covid recovery package.
This week it was reported that China has seen a 6.5% growth to their economy in the last quarter, up from 4.5% the previous quarter as they continue their recovery from Covid.
Wheat
US wheat contracts rose a further $10 reaching new contract highs in the week before dipping back slightly with profit taking. There is still underlying support coming from South American crop progress and Russian taxes. Russia confirmed this week that they will be increasing their wheat export tax from $25 to $50 and are also floating the idea of a flexible tariff for new crop. This came in the same week at the 2020 crop was downgraded by 4 Mln T.
The French wheat futures, the Matif followed Russian news and continued demand from China rallied €15 in the week before seeing a small dip on profit taking, similar to the US markets. The UK Liffe wheat futures have followed a similar pattern, this week but with the difference between old crop and new crop now between £40-£50, the question is if the old crop will collapse to meet new crop values, or if old crop will put new crop up in the short term. The UK still needs to source close to 1 Mln t of wheat to new crop, and our UK prices still tracking below Matif, it would suggest that it is more likely there will be a short term rise in new crop.
Soya
Soya has ended the week well off the highs after some rain did fall across Argentina. This will need to be sustained for it to be able to have any impact on crops now but it was enough to trigger a wave of profit taking from fund holders. There is still a huge amount of underlying support, certainly in the short term with the US crop confirmed to have the second lowest carryout in 40 years with the Brazilian harvest well behind normal levels for this time of year. Crop ratings in Argentina were increased up to 21% good/excellent, up 3% in a week but behind the 38% average on the arrival of the rain showers.
And Finally…
Injured pet owner spends £300 on X-Rays for his beloved dog only to find the beloved pet was copying him out of sympathy.
The heart warming video shows the lurcher walking with his owner down the street, who is in a cast, limping on his front paw. Concerned, the owner took him to the vets only to discover he was mimicking his movement.
The lurcher has now received more than two million views online and seems to have captured the hearts of a nation in need of light hearted news right now.
Dogs are well known for their ‘automatic imitation’ and will naturally mimic and pack leader in the wild or even their owners, a similar trait to that found in humans as well.
Regards,
Kay Johnson & Martin Humphrey
