The grains sector traded at a five-week high ahead of Friday’s supply and demand report from the US Department of Agriculture. The Bloomberg Grains Index continues to recover following its 28% June to July correction with gains this past week being led by wheat and corn in response to a weaker dollar and not least hot and dry weather in the US and another heatwave in Europe raising concerns about yield and production. Hot and dry weather at a critical stage for yield developments ahead of the soon-to-be-harvested crop has given the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report some additional attention with surveys pointing to price support with the prospect of lower yields lowering expectations for the level of available stocks ahead of the coming winter.
Cotton, up 8% this month has seen the focus switch from growth and demand worries, especially in China, to deepening global supply concerns as heatwaves in the US and China hurt production prospects. Friday’s monthly supply and demand report (WASDE) from the US Department of Agriculture was expected to show lower US production driving down ending stocks by around 10% to 2.2 m bales, an 11-year low.
Arabica coffee, in a downtrend since February, has also seen a steady rise since bouncing from key support below $2/lb last month. A persistent and underlying support from South American production worries has reasserted itself during the past few weeks as the current on-season crop potentially being the lowest since 2014. Brazil’s drought and cold curbed flowering last season and severe frosts in July 2021 led farmers to cut down coffee trees at a time of high costs for agricultural inputs, notably fertilizer. In addition, Columbia another top producer, has seen its crop being reduced by too much rainfall.