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IKAR in Mass MediaDry Russian Weather Boosts Wheat Prices in Food Inflation Threat07 июня 2024 года Bumper harvests have capped futures in recent years, but bad conditions are now pushing them higher. Welcome to our guide to the commodities underpinning the global economy. Today, reporter Celia Bergin looks at how dry weather in Russia is pushing up global wheat prices. To get this newsletter in your inbox, sign up here. Wheat’s getting expensive again, and it’s largely down to one producer. Russia, the grain’s biggest exporter, has been the market’s main threat as well as its saving grace over the past couple of years. President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine sent prices spiraling to a record high in 2022 on worries that the two nations wouldn’t be able to get their crops to the world. But Russia’s subsequent back-to-back bumper harvests have cooled the market since then. That’s changing as dry weather and unseasonably late frosts in its main growing regions drive a global rally. Analysts have cut back their harvest estimates for 2024 by more than 10%, spurring the largest monthly price jump since Russian tanks rolled over the border. Growers in Ukraine and other parts of Europe are also facing difficulties. Signs of a good crop in the US have tempered prices since late May, but worldwide stockpiles are still set to hit the lowest in nine years. In addition to the bleak harvest prospects, the waters are being muddied by a lack of transparency on the precise conditions of Russia’s crop. In addition to the bleak harvest prospects, the waters are being muddied by a lack of transparency on the precise conditions of Russia’s crop. China is ramping up investments in grid infrastructure to keep pace with a record-setting boom in renewables that has put the electricity network under unprecedented strain. While the country is still installing more solar panels than anyone else, the breakneck pace of growth has been checked. Today’s top stories Trafigura Group posted its smallest first-half profit since 2020 — down 73% from a year earlier — as the commodity giant adjusts to calmer conditions across its key energy and metals markets. Saudi Aramco lowered prices for all of its oil to Asia next month, the first reduction since February, amid concerns over the strength of demand in its biggest market. Urgent repairs to a pipe on a gas platform in Norway are underway — but the event served as a grim reminder that small outages can send European prices soaring. An ambitious bid by Namibia to become a green hydrogen hub is attracting investment from Germany and the Netherlands, but it’s still unclear if the plan will ever be commercially viable. Investment in clean energy technologies will climb to $2 trillion this year, almost double the amount spent on fossil fuels, according to the International Energy Agency. Source: Bloomberg | #grain | Comments: 0 Views: 33
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