Monday Market Briefing - 21st July 2025

Harvest gathered pace last week as everyone rushed to beat the rain delay we are now in the midst of. Several wheat crops were not ready and had to be pulled out of – which should bode well for the quality withstanding a brief wet and muggy spell now. Current forecasts show the rain clearing up by Wednesday and then a settled period to follow so fingers crossed for that.  We have seen a bit of everything in the lab and early signs on quality are very encouraging, grain size and protein content right where we want it, yields not breaking any records but in many cases comfortably above five-year averages.

The French crop, about two thirds done now, has done similarly well and generally harvest news continues to add to the bearish sentiment in a well-supplied marketplace. Which does beg the question why did markets go up last week ? Nov LIFFE returned to £180 again for the first time since late June, that still looks like the price we are most comfortable at – last week then was a simple case of ‘more buyers than sellers’ which in thin, lightly traded markets can move prices quickly. So far, recent markets have looked wobbly every time they ventured above this level so this week is probably a selling opportunity  (especially if we do push higher Monday-Tuesday)  if you have early business to place.

Have a good week.