April 24, 2012

 

Russia's wheat prices down on weak demand, state sales

 

 

Due to weak demand and intervention sales from state inventories, Russian wheat prices declined last week, analysts said on Monday (Apr 23).

 

"Traders complain about very weak demand from the international market," the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR) said in a note.

 

Russian wheat with 12.5% protein content declined to US$269 per tonne from US$270 per tonne on a free-on-board basis (FOB) in the port of Novorossiisk, IKAR said.

 

SovEcon analysts wrote that purchase prices of wheat with 11.5% protein content in Russian deep-water ports were stable at RUB7,400-7,600 (US$250-260) per tonne last week on a carriage-paid-to (CPT) basis.

 

In shallow-water ports wheat prices rose to RUB7,100-7,250 (US$241-246) per tonne from RUB7,000-7,100 (US$237-241), they added.

 

May milling wheat on the Paris futures market closed at EUR216.50 (US$290) a tonne on Friday (Apr 20) after hitting a three-week high of EUR218.25 (US$287).

 

US July wheat futures were up 0.12% to 6.23-3/4 per bushel on Monday at 0709 GMT.

 

The Russian government sold 742,895 tonnes of grain in its first six intervention tenders this year, data from an exchange showed last week, with wheat accounting for 622,822 tonnes.

 

Average domestic prices for third-grade milling wheat were stable at RUB6,550 (US$222) per tonne ex-works in European Russia. Fourth-grade prices stood at RUB6,525 (US$221) per tonne ex-works last week, SovEcon said.

 

For sunseeds, the domestic price index rose to US$408 per tonne from RUB12,050 (US$408) per tonne from RUB11,640 (US$394), IKAR said. SovEcon pegged it at RUB12,075 (US$409) per tonne, up RUB450 (US$15).

 

Crude sunoil prices strengthened to US$1,142 per tonne from US$1,125, IKAR said. SovEcon recorded them at RUB34,675 (US$1175) per tonne, up RUB900 (US$30).

 

Domestic white sugar prices fell to US$844 per tonne from US$862 per tonne, IKAR said.