On Wednesday the prices of all cultures in Chicago decreased. In Paris wheat and rapeseed prices rose significantly, and corn went down a little.

EUR / USD index fell to 1.0896. WTI crude oil rose to 49.43 USD / barrel.

The White House presented US President Donald Trump's plans for tax reform. Trump's plan will reduce the number of tax rates for the personal income tax on from seven to three, the highest being 35%, followed by 25% and 10%. However at present, it is not clear at what income ranges the different rates will apply. A reduction of corporate tax is also foreseen to 15% from 35%. Tax exemptions will be lifted, with some exceptions such as mortgages and donations. The White House also said there would be a "one-off tax" on the trillions of dollars that corporations held abroad. However, the amount of this tax is yet to be determined.

US State Administration presented a plan to reduce taxes in the country. There is evidence that the domestic protection policy will be strengthened and the first measure is taken concerning the import of timber from Canada. This way the US is getting closer to leaving the North American Free Trade Agreement.

In South America farmers still do not approve the current soybean prices and hold sales as long as possible. This is happening in Brazil and Argentina.

In the US corn belt precipitation continues, which slows down the corn sowing campaign. Farmers think that more and more areas planned for corn will be redirected for soybean. The same is valid for the northern states, where spring wheat sowing is delayed. Part of these areas will also pass to soybean. Winter wheat in the United States seems to be good overall without any visible damage so far.

Potential problems for the wheat In Kansas temperatures have dropped significantly, which is not comfortable for the wheat crops. There is no mass damage so far, but development is slowed down. In Western Europe in many places it is dry and the perspectives are not to rain soon. In Russia and Ukraine the temperatures are low. In Canada it is cold with snow and the sowing of spring wheat is not doing well.

Rabobank lowered their forecast for the price of soybeans on the grounds of the huge yield in South America. During the last three months of 2017 the price of the culture will be 9.3 USD / bushel to 10.1 USD / bushel in the forecast of last year. China's soybean purchases are also expected to decline by early July because it is expected to reduce VAT on agricultural products from 13% to 11%. Soybean production in Brazil and Argentina will be 166 million tonnes which is 13 million tonnes more than last year. It is highlighted that the problems in Argentina will affect the expectations but no so much. In Brazil the crop is almost harvested and is in the warehouses - without strong sales. Farmers expect a price increase of 15% in order to sell and the stock to decrease rapidly. Is this going to happen ??? Forecasts on soybeans in the United States during the season fluctuate. On one hand, rainfall slows the sowing of corn and spring wheat, which will transfer areas to soybean. On the other hand, soybean prices have dropped a lot and this is stopping the process.

During this quarter a short-term rise in the price of palm oil is expected. In the second half of the year however, the trend will be declining due to the recovering production. It is worth noting the huge perspective for producing soybean oil with a world crop of 334 million tonnes of soybean. This will be a substitute product of palm oil, which is already available at lower market prices. Considering the buyers - India and China, we can hardly expect a substantial increase in their demand for oil. In India the demand for palm oil is particularly sensitive to its price because consumers do not have enough money to buy it. In China, given the structural changes of the market there is also a decrease in the demand for palm oil, i.e. consumers prefer oils of higher quality.

In Russian ports, grain processing dues are sharply lowered. Previously they were 27-28 USD / t. and now 16-17 USD / t.

In March 2017 the export of grain from Ukraine increased by 52% compared to February up to 4.54 million tonnes. Improving export performance indexes is at the expense of corn. During the month corn exports from Ukraine reached 3.1 million tonnes which is the best level for 2016-2017. In February exports reached 1.8 million tonnes. In the first nine months of the season Ukraine has exported 34.2 million tonnes of grain.

Soybean price – Yesterday soy futures in Chicago fell by 3.5 - 8.75 cents / bushel. Export sales of US soybeans are expected to be 250,000-450,000 tonnes of old harvest + 100,000-300,000 tonnes of new harvest. The sales of soybean meal will be 100 000 - 350 000 tonnes and soybean oil 8 000 - 40 000 tonnes.

Wheat price – Yesterday wheat futures in Chicago fell to as low as 3.75 cents / bushel. Export sales of US wheat are expected to be between 300 000 and 500 000 tonnes + 50 000 to 250 000 tonnes. Analysts believe that wheat production in Russia will decrease compared to 2016 with 8.5% to 67.1 million tons.

Corn price – Yesterday, corn futures in Chicago fell by 4 to 6 cents / bushel. In the past week ethanol production in the US dropped by 6,000 barrels a day to 987,000 barrels a day. At the same time stocks grew by 235,000 barrels per week to 23,269 million barrels. Export sales of US corn will be 700 000 - 900 000 tonnes + 50 000 - 250 000 tonnes. USDA attache in the US estimates the new corn crop in the country at 39 million tonnes.

These days there have been no news changing the situation in the world - meteorological and marketing. The picture looks gray and dull as everything is predicted now and there are no surprises. This will continue over the next 20 days, when unless there is a change concerning the rainfall in Western Europe, the prices of all crops will start to rise.