The immediate fallout from the Brexit vote was to send global financial markets into turmoil, with massive sell-off on Friday and again on Monday. The value of sterling plummeted against the US dollar and the euro but the European single currency itself was also weakened from the Brexit result and has fallen sharply against the US dollar.

From a grains perspective, this has helped give a boost, albeit marginal, to grain prices in Europe and London. LIFFE wheat for November delivery is trading almost £8/t ahead of where it was last Thursday and sits just below £124/t this afternoon.

In Paris, there were marginal gains across the board for wheat, maize and rapeseed. In the US, wheat prices have come under pressure as reports of strong yields in the harvest to date weigh on market confidence.

Europe

On the Euronext exchange (MATIF) in Paris, prices got off to a steady start this week, with marginal gains for wheat and rapeseed during Monday’s trade.

December 2016 delivered milling wheat gained €1/t to sit just under €167/t, while December 2017 wheat prices also gained €1/t to finish below €182/t.

Maize (corn) prices from prices were flat to slightly improved. November 2016 delivered maize inched marginally higher to €169/t, while November 2017 delivered maize was flat at €181/t.

Rapeseed prices have suffered some heavy losses over the last week but regained some ground during Monday’s trade in Paris. November 2016 delivered rapeseed jumped almost €5/t to settle just below €363/t, while November 2017 delivered rapeseed gained over €2/t to finish at €360/t.

Chicago

On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), prices for wheat have started this week on a downward trend as farmers report strong yields from the crop harvested already. The pressure on wheat only serves to hold back Chicago corn prices.

SRW wheat for December 2016 delivery lost almost $3/t during Monday’s trade to close below $176/t (€158/t), while December 2017 delivered SRW wheat was also back $3/t in price to finish at $197/t (€177/t).

Despite positive export data released overnight by the USDA, Chicago corn prices remained flat under the weight of falling wheat prices.

December 2016 delivered corn was steady at $155/t (€140/t), while December 2017 delivered corn was also flat at $156/t (€141/t). Having risen steadily over the last number of months, US corn prices have plunged sharply in the last 10 days.