For much of last week the grain markets continued their steady trend lower.
However, that all changed on Thursday night with sharp gains across the board, with a modest setback again on Friday night as the US headed into a long weekend.
The trigger for the rally came from corn with a limit up move with strong old and new season weekly corn sales reported.
As well, some in the trade had been expecting China to cancel some orders, or at least delay them, but it turned out to be the opposite.
Analysts began lowering their estimates for US carryout stocks, while some question marks were being raised over the more optimistic of the corn planted acreage "guesses".
Most acreage estimates are above the United Stated Department of Agriculture numbers, but not to the extreme level being promoted by some forecasters.
There was also a view that funds had exhausted their profit taking and winding down of bought positions ahead of the end of the month.
Selling dried up, allowing the market to rebound sharply.
On a global front, the International Grains Council is certainly forecasting a lift in global grain output, but at the same time suggesting that increased use of corn and wheat for livestock feed will still pressure global ending stocks.
The sharp upward moves from corn spilled over to wheat, with prices jumping close to Australian $13 per tonne on Thursday night last week, before giving up around $4 per tonne of those gains on Friday night ahead of a long weekend in the US.
The US wheat futures contracts were supported by solid export sales numbers, but also by strong international demand, with Saudi Arabia in the market for 720,000 tonnes.
Hard Red Winter wheat got strong support from the lift in corn, and spring wheat got support from a return to dry conditions in the forecast for key spring wheat areas.
Spring wheat areas had enjoyed a recent boost to rainfall totals, but even that did not stop the drought from intensifying in key states like North Dakota.
We also saw freezing weather move through Canada and northern parts of the US, putting newly planted crops at risk, although canola is thought to be more at risk than spring wheat crops.
So, we have had a season low in May, and now seem to be getting a rebound into June.
The key to longer term prospects will be to see whether the June recovery can take out the May highs and establish another new, higher price base, or whether the rally peters out, before trending down into the first of our US harvest lows, expected in the second half of June.
Meanwhile Australian dollar values for December futures remain at decile 9.8 levels.