EU & UK: Malting barley prices mostly down driven by lower Paris wheat futures

In France, malting barley prices are mostly down, driven by lower Paris wheat futures, which are coming down from the spike created by the Russian crop news. Without any further negative news from Russian (and actually some rainfall received), the bullishness in barley prices has dissipated, RMI Analytics said in their early June report.

Spring crops, although late, are on a good path to deliver a reasonable outcome and on barley fundamentals alone, the western European outlook is OK. Lower winter wheat ratings are from the on-going wet conditions which are a risk to the final crop prospects. Winter prices are holding more steady than spring, due to these concerns.

Both Danish and UK malting barley prices are weaker as the influence from the wheat market subsides and in step with France. In the UK, a good crop is developing and leading farmers to show more selling interest. A lower malting premium in the UK is interesting for continental maltsters, but for now, trade activity remains rather low, as maltsters appear well covered while brewers are also not showing much open demand.

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