Monday Market Briefing - 1st February 2021

China certainly reacted to the late Jan price dip – buying 5.8 million tonnes of US corn last week, over a million tonnes a day! Markets responded accordingly and new crop ended the week especially supported. The USDA won’t be reporting planting intentions until late March but with soybeans also trading freely, a battle for acres in the US seems likely.

At home, old crop markets caught the mood but made more modest gains. It looks increasingly likely that the UK has imported enough wheat now to solve the perceived shortfall from last year’s harvest. Remaining old crop markets should now be a calmer affair as wheat buyers will be more confident of finding the April-June supplies they still need. Barley continues to be very active, as malting barley is exceptionally scarce now and if we are to emerge from lockdown into a summer of parties, that could quickly put strain on malting supply. We also saw a few signs on life in the long dormant oat markets which will hopefully develop further.

There are no major reports due this week, but other world buyers apart from China are slightly behind the calendar now and any activity from them will add support again.

Have a good week and stay safe.