Monday Market Briefing - 9th February 2026

Another flat sideways week did see some short-covering but buyers were able to find the volume needed without shifting the price which remains stuck stubbornly at season lows. International tender activity slackened off after a busy January, apart from soybeans where China appears to have upped their US purchases substantially. Projections for next weeks USDA update suggest they will confirm world grains stock-to-use ratios at end of this season will hit 25 year highs. As we’ve said before ,this substantially de-risks the new crop market as well as the old.

That said, much of Europe is still sitting under the jet-stream and prolonged wet weather now starts to impact on French spring drilling programmes particularly- central France has at least another two weeks of rain in the forecast and this will place the spring barley programme behind schedule.  It’s too early to call it a market mover yet but buyers will have raised at least one eyebrow at the forecast and there is renewed trading interest in new crop malting barley around.

It’s important to stress, as farm selling remains brisk, that old crop positions are filling in rapidly now. Many stores have suffered with infestations partly due to more grain moving late in the season or even being carried over in recent years. So, if you need to ensure a proper break for your sore between crops don’t get caught out with late season markets filling in before you’ve acted.

Have a good week.