Frontrunner

By Frontier AgricultureNews

Frontrunner episodes

August 14, 2020 Frontrunner - 14th August 2020
Speculative selling on wheat futures markets continued this week and saw values from the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) drop to a six-week low. The increasing size of the Russian wheat crop seemed sufficient to encourage sellers, as analysts published new estimates surpassing 80 million tonnes. Average yields are running above last year and, with a larger wheat area drilled, it seems likely that Russia will produce its second largest wheat crop on record. However, there is still time for the average yield to fall as some of the worst drought-affected spring wheat areas are yet to be combined.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
10 min
August 07, 2020 Frontrunner - 7th August 2020
US Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat futures lost 5% of their value this week as traders reacted to increases in crop estimates for some of the world's major wheat producers. Improving Russian prospects were highlighted as a primary driver for the move. The Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR) raised its estimate to 79.5 million tonnes from 78 million tonnes as the Russian wheat harvest reached 46% completion and average yields surpassed last year, up to 3.66t/ha from 3.62t/ha.

49.7 million tonnes have been combined compared to 46.7 million tonnes at the same time last year. Additional selling pressure came from news that Canadian farmers could harvest a record wheat crop this season.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
12 min
July 31, 2020 Frontrunner - 31st July 2020
Last Friday, global markets saw a considerable lift following reports of significant export sales to China from the US for corn and soybeans. On Monday, however, this lift was wiped out on the back of increased Russian wheat crop estimates and less than expected US wheat shipments.

The Institute of Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR) increased its Russian wheat production estimate to 78 million tonnes. This is up from 76.5 million tonnes previously and comes as a result of the higher yields being seen in the Black Earth region, which are moving the average closer to that of last year due to the increased area drilled.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
13 min
July 24, 2020 Frontrunner - 24th July 2020
Early UK wheat harvest results suggest huge variability in terms of yield and quality, with wide-ranging proteins grabbing the headlines thus far and testing generally lower than at this stage last year. The Hagberg falling numbers and specific weights reported also reflect a less-than-ideal growing season and, with a mixed short-term weather forecast, this may continue to be the case.

Elsewhere, FranceAgriMer estimates 57% of soft wheat to be in ‘good’ to ‘excellent’ condition. This is a 2% improvement on last week, bringing the harvest to 71% completion.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
10 min
July 20, 2020 Frontrunner - 17th July 2020
This week has seen volatile trading on US Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat futures caused by rumours of US wheat sales to China along with further cuts to wheat crop estimates for some of the major producers.

CBOT wheat futures hit contract lows ahead of the Stocks and Acreage Report from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) which was published on the 30th June. However, an unexpected cut of 600,000 acres in the planted wheat area, and therefore the lowest US wheat area since records began, triggered a positive turn for the market.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
10 min
July 20, 2020 Frontrunner - 10th July 2020
Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat futures prices rallied by more than 6% this week as speculative funds bought heavily, covering large parts of their short positions. This surge in buying was triggered by reports of poor early harvest wheat yields in France and the Black Sea region. Buying was also triggered by a string of revised wheat crop production estimates that has seen output lowered for some of the world's primary wheat exporters.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
14 min
July 20, 2020 Frontrunner - 3rd July 2020
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) surprised markets at the end of March 2020 when it published its US quarterly stocks and acreage report. It estimated that US farmers would significantly expand their corn planted area. The estimate predicted the planted corn area would be 7.3 million acres greater than last year, when prolonged rainfall kept farmers out of the fields.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
12 min
July 20, 2020 Frontrunner - 26th June 2020
Wheat markets continued to fall this week, continuing the trend that coincided with the beginning of June. Improving production prospects for US wheat and corn crops are the main cause for this negativity as Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat futures fell to within a cent of contract lows set early last September. US CBOT corn futures slipped almost 6% lower during the week.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
12 min
July 20, 2020 Frontrunner - 19th June 2020
Improving US harvest prospects saw Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat futures come under increasing pressure this week, losing almost 4% of their value and falling to levels not seen since early September last year. The US wheat harvest is advancing rapidly, with 15% completed according to the most recent crop progress report from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which was published on Monday evening. This figure compares to 7% at this time last year...
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
12 min
July 20, 2020 Frontrunner - 12th June 2020
Beneficial rain across most of Europe, as well as improving wheat and corn production prospects in the US, weighed on wheat markets early this week. Expectations for a bumper US corn crop in the 2020/21 season grew higher as US farmers advanced their planting to 97% completion. This is ahead of the five-year average of 94% and would suggest that drilling the increased 7.3 million acres projected by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is highly likely...
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
9 min

About Frontrunner

From the publisher's feed

Frontrunner is the weekly grain marketing update from Frontier Agriculture. Covering wheat, barley, oilseed rape, pulses, seeds and fertiliser, we make sure growers can keep up to date with the latest…