Oilseeds markets ease back with prices at £340/t
© Tim Scrivener UK oilseeds markets have hovered around the £350/t mark since mid-November, with global supply-and-demand trends influencing markets. However, prices have eased back slightly during the past few days.
Spot prices collected on 10 January by Farmers Weekly put oilseed rape at £340.4/t ex-farm, down £6/t on the week.
News of cuts to Brazilian crop estimates had added some support earlier in the week, but global oilseeds markets have since dropped back following improvements to the weather outlook for Brazil.
See also: Mixed signals for grain markets with feed wheat at £180/t
The general consensus is that there is still an ample supply of rapeseed both in the EU and internationally, according to grain traders at Cefetra.
Meanwhile, traders at Frontier Agriculture suggested that farm selling increased slightly last week, but the market continued to be relatively quiet.
In th longer term, potential price falls could be capped if EU supplies are low for harvest.
Delivered prices for harvest 2024 ranged from £338/t in Inverness to £365/t in Liverpool for oilseed rape, as quoted on 10 January.
Oil demand
Crude oil has been trading slightly lower in recent weeks, with Brent crude oil at US$78.26/barrel (£61.49) on 10 January, putting further pressure on oilseed markets.
Merchants at Dewing Grain reported that there had been growing competition between crude oil-producing countries, with production increases in Nigeria, Iraq and Angola outstripping the production cuts by Saudi Arabia.
Looking forward, the US Department of Agriculture’s first World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report of the year is due for release on 12 January and is likely to influence global oilseed markets in the coming week.