Jonathan Lane, Gleadell’s Trading Manager, comments on the OSR market

The US soybean market has firmed this week on strong crush demand and a shortage of US supplies.  However, despite tight US soybean stocks global volumes stocks are ample. In addition there are favourable conditions in South America, particularly Brazil which is looking towards a record crop.

In Europe the physical market remains reasonably quiet with little activity. Merchants and farmers continue to hold seed – are they just storing up to sell at lower prices in the summer? The MATIF February rapeseed contract has ticked higher with good spot crush margins and traders covering the February shorts before the contract expiry at month end. There is a plentiful supply of seed in the EU and currently big imports from Australia are arriving.

In the UK domestic prices have risen due to the uptick in MATIF and a slightly firmer euro. Crushers have booked seed for spot positions and we have seen farmer selling around the £280+/t ex farm levels. We feel this rise presents a good opportunity for farmers to make some sales. The UK has also seen some export business with cargoes traded into Europe.