Asia wheat November roundup: Rains hamper Australian harvest; strong corn prices boost feed wheat demand

Australian wheat prices were more volatile in November, as bearish pressure from competitive Argentine wheat prices and a lack of strong demand weighed on bullishness stemming from poor weather during the Australian harvest and lower-than-expected crop protein levels in Western Australia. Platts assessed Australian Premium White wheat and Australian Standard White wheat at $262/mt and $248/mt, respectively, on Nov. 29, data from S&P Global Commodity Insights showed. Rainfall in the latter half of November delayed fieldwork, particularly on the East Coast, as market participants await drier conditions to resume harvest and assess potential quality damage caused by the untimely rain. The duration and intensity of the rainfall have heightened concerns about potentially severe quality damage to the crop. “Mold and vomitoxin probably won’t be real concerns, but it will be [issues with] test weight and falling numbers,” a Victoria-based market source said, adding that crop protein ...