Financial agricultural market France and Europe

Beginning of the week drops some in Europe

The prices of cereals were in fall yesterday on Euronext, in the wake of the end of the week in Chicago, Friday. Yesterday the US markets had remained closed and the European wheat has been begun again in the absence of the US markets, not penalized by one euro with highest for 10 days vis-a-vis the dollar and because of overall lenient climatic conditions in the UE-27. Despite everything, the international marketing activity was intense, with an invitation to tender of Iraq for 100KT of wheat and one of Morocco for 280KT. Following the example of the prices of European wheat, colza had opened in negative territory yesterday. The losses were gradually reduced in the afternoon and the last business of the meeting made return the prices of European colza in the green. The climatic conditions are worrying in the basin of the Black Sea where the temperatures strongly fell. There were snowfalls well, but one wonders about the possible losses of the colza of winter, in particular in Ukraine. Yesterday, the jump of the oil prices also allowed the obliteration of the losses of colza on Euronext. The crude barrel gained more than 5% in the end of the afternoon because of the political tensions in Lybie.

French market
The trend of the prices of cereals on the French physical markets reproduced the dynamics of the futures market perfectly yesterday. The wheat returned Rouen indeed yielded 4,5€/T to 250,50€/T and most price of cereals were in fall. It was also the case of colza and the sunflower.

British market
The LIFFE finished yesterday the meeting in the red, in echo at the US markets in fall and closed Friday yesterday because of Presidents' Day. The expiries May 11 and Nov.11 enclosed respectively with £206.70/T (- £1.40/T) and £170.50/T (- £3.55/T) always in a reduced volume of activity (only 519 treated batches). On the foreign exchange market, Sterling remained firm vis-a-vis the European currency (£1=1.1859€) and vis-a-vis the American dollar (£1=1.6221$).

Market Black Sea
In Ukraine, the marketing activity was extremely reduced in this beginning of the week. The prices were unchanged. The Ukrainian official weather service indicates that the wheat is in an overall satisfactory state. On the other hand, the weather evolution of these last days probably damaged part of colza.