MOSCOW yesterday gave another mixed signal about the duration of a grain export ban set initially from August 15 to December 31, but European Union grain markets continued to rise, apparently ignoring the latest twist.
President Dmitry Medvedev signalled Russia's ban on grain exports may be lifted earlier than December 31 this year and state grain stocks may be insufficient to cover the drought-hit country's needs.
His remarks contradicted a statement from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who last week said the ban may be extended to late 2011. Wheat futures in Paris and London extended gains to one-month highs, supported by bullish export prospects in the wake of weather-hit harvests in some major producing countries.
The closure of US markets for the Labor Day holiday kept volumes light, while this coming Friday's monthly crop report from the US Department of Agriculture was adding some uncertainty to the market outlook, traders said.
A the worst drought in a century in Russia, last year's world No 3 exporter of grain, drove benchmark US wheat futures to two-year highs of US$8.41 a bushel in early August and sparked fears of food price spikesReuters
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
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