Summary of key issues:
- During the past week rainfall was mainly restricted to far south of Australia and the eastern and north-western coastline.
- There are numerous reports that frost events which have occurred during October 2013, has damaged some cereal crops in central and southern New South Wales.
- Water storage levels in the Murray–Darling Basin have decreased by 148 gigalitres this week and remains at 82 per cent of total capacity.
- The world wheat indicator price (US No. 2 hard red winter, free on board Gulf ports) averaged US$334 a tonne in the week ending 29 October 2013, compared with US$332 in the previous week.
- The Australian feed wheat indicator price (general purpose, Sydney) rose by around 16 per cent in the week ending 30 October 2013 to $320 a tonne.
- TheQueensland young cattle indicator price (330 – 400 kg live weight C3) increased by around 5 per cent to 328 cents a kilogram in the week ending 25 October 2013.
- The world cotton indicator price (the Cotlook ‘A’ index) averaged US86.2 cents a pound in the week ending 30 October 2013, the lowest average weekly price in more than 9months.