The European Union is currently using this tax, Stevens notes. Wheat prices closed up 8 to 11 cents on sentiment that weather was not improving enough to help the winter wheat crop quality and thoughts that Monday night's crop quality numbers would bear this out. In the hard red winter states, Kansas and Oklahoma crop quality showed a slight improvement, while the Texas wheat crop continued to deteriorate. Ideas that crop concerns will continue to encourage demand across the board helped corn and beans to gain on the coattails of the wheat market. Friday March 29 brings the Quarterly Stocks Report as well as the Prospective Plantings.
Traders expect to see a continued tightening of the stocks.
On the other hand it's interesting that Japan seems to have shifted its interest to corn, and while China is lifting wheat each week its recent purchases have been for new crop. Front months gained slightly on back months today leading us to believe that today's rally was a response to tight stocks as well as weather.