Russian grain prices kept rising last week with a speed unseen before, traders said. The rise has not been influenced by an acceleration of the harvesting campaign.
Milling wheat prices rose notably in Western Siberia reaching levels of the European part of Russia. The main reason behind the rise was demand from exporters, which kept actively buying new harvest grain. Also last week the market received new bullish signals after the Indian government announced it would buy half a million tonnes of wheat at $317-$330 per tonne.
Half of this volume is constituted by Canadian wheat and the rest may be Russian. Egypt's purchases, as well as rainy weather in some European Union countries, which delayed the harvesting and threatened the quality of the new crop also supported prices.
Offer prices increased last week. But market players noted also an increase in supplies, as some stockholders decided to sell at current market price levels. The Agriculture Ministry's statements that 1.5 million tonnes of grain from the government stocks could be released to the market and exports restricted could also have influenced sellers.
Wheat flour prices followed those of wheat and reached a record level of 9,775 roubles per tonne last week. Crude sunoil prices added 500 roubles per tonne, while sunset market was dull with low supply. Market players speculate that the new crop seeds prices may start in the range of 7,000-8,000 roubles per tonne.