Futures Close Report: 7th Sept 2017

China, the world’s top soybean buyer, imported 8.45 million tonnes of the oilseed in August, customs data showed on Friday, a record for the month of August, as improving margins boosted demand from buyers.  The August figures were up 10.2% from last year’s 7.67 million tonnes, but down 16.2% from 10.08 tonnes in July which itself was a 10 year high.

Argentina will regain access to the European Union’s biodiesel market within three weeks after its successful World Trade Organization challenge to Europe’s anti-dumping duties on the fuel.  The European Union will by September 28th, sharply lower the tariffs it has imposed on Argentine biodiesel for the past four years after EU member states backed the reduction on Thursday.  In response to the WTO ruling, the European Commission proposed lowering the duties to between 4.5 and 8.1 percent, current levels are between 22% and 25.7%.  EU producers of Biodiesel who use mainly OSR as a feed stock have voiced their concerns as they fear their markets will be flooded by imports as a result = bearish OSR price.

Maize crop conditions in France were stable in the week to September 4th, with 79% of grain maize crops rated good or excellent, unchanged from a week earlier, according to FranceAgrimer.