Currencies
This week the Sterling has stayed fairly flat. It was down slightly against the $ as the US finally confirmed a new fiscal stimulus package, but held steady against the € as both France and Germany continue to struggle with vaccine uptake. The budget this week was seen as positive for the UK economy, giving support to the FTSE market.
Wheat
Old crop news has been relatively quiet this week, with US markets down slightly on lower export figures, (the lowest weekly levels for almost a year), which triggered fund sell offs. France reduced the rating of their winter crops down slightly from November, but nothing significant, and that may change with the warmer weather, and spring drilling will be well underway now.
New crop has been supported this week by the Vivergo story from last week. It is important to remember that this coming wheat season will be all about replenishing stocks and the potential of a site which could take up to 1 MlnT of wheat per year (although unlikely for a while yet). The re-opening has meant that prices will stay supported until we have a better understanding of anticipated yields for this year.
Soya
Soya prices are down week on week with the prospect of a record Brazilian crop, despite the challenges of the recent inclement weather. It has been reported that there are new outbreaks of swine flu in China, which has been enough to scare the bulls! China have cancelled soya shipments this week, and have not returned to buying after their New Year break as had been anticipated. Having said that, the Argentinian crop has been downgraded further to 15% good/excellent vs the normal 64% for this time of year. The market feels like it is stuck without any clear idea which way to move because there are still so many unknowns until we get the South American crop harvested.
And Finally…
Fukushima 10 Year On- Incredible Photos Show How The Region Has Rebuilt
10 years after Japan was hit by the devastating 9.0 (on the richter scale) earthquake on 11th March 2011, the country has shown its incredible transformation.
The earthquake triggered waves 56ft high and claimed about 16,000 lives, wiping whole towns from the map. The tragedy will be remembered most for the damage caused to the region’s nuclear power plant, which caused a meltdown which rendered large parts of the surrounding area uninhabitable. These areas will of course remain abandoned but, the change in the rest of the area is clear to see. Find out more.
Regards,
Kay Johnson & Martin Humphrey
