World grain market

摘要

INTERNATIONAL grain and oilseed prices advanced strongly in December and again in January, with some values at their highest for two years. But export prices remained below the peaks recorded early in 2008. While there has been little fundamental change in the overall supply and demand balance in the past two months, markets were driven higher by concerns about supplies of quality milling wheat and the tightening outlook for maize and soyabeans. For wheat, reports that the extremely wet conditions ineastern Australia would render at least one-third of the country's large wheat crop unfit for flour milling were especially bullish. More recently, better prospects for US exports and a winter wheat acreage report showing a smaller than expected rise in Hard Red Winter wheat plantings further triggered buying.