The Australian dollar closed the week ending the 10th of December at 0.9853 up about 100 points on its low of the week.
Weather.
Heavy rain continued in NSW and Many areas are now flooded, especially around Weewaa through to Colleamberly. The desi chick pea crop is devastated and thousands of containers have been washed out by the trade.
In Victoria there have been several very serious rain events during the first weeks of December. The Pulse crops, especially the lentils will be affected, but more so from a quality point of view. The lentils that were harvested before the rain were exceptional quality and very high yields.
In South Australia there were also several serious rains events, but the impact may not be as bad as Victoria. We estimate that 40 - 50,000mt was harvested prior to the rain, and the quality and yields were excellent. the market has firmed around US$20 - 30 during the week at origin. Destination bids were seen at around US$790 CFR Karachi for #1 nuggets whereas the nominal offer would have been around US$20 - $30 higher.
The reality for the next few days is that buyers and sellers will be on the sidelines waiting for more substantial news about the impact of rain on quality and yields. Harvest has subsequently dropped back another 7 - 10 days which is going to frustrate the efforts of exporters to execute December shipments.
