PARIS: European wheat prices were almost steady in light trade on Wednesday as traders held off ahead of the release later in the day of a much-awaited US government report.
By 1454 GMT, benchmark December milling wheat on Paris-based Euronext was 0.1 percent higher.
"People are being careful. Prices are already low for the start of the next campaign and it's clear that there is wheat left for sale in the world," a Euronext trader said.
"Unless there is a major weather problem in a major producing area there is no reason to see prices rebound."
Front-month May, the last contract for the current season, was trading slightly higher ahead of its expiry at the end of the session.
The US Department of Agriculture's supply/demand report on Wednesday will include the government's first official crop production and usage estimates for the 2017/18 marketing year.
European wheat prices were also supported by FranceAgriMer cutting its French 2016/17 soft wheat ending stocks forecast for the second month in a row as the farm agency increased its export outlook.
The reduced stocks forecast represents a three-year low and was down sharply from an estimated 3.3 million tonnes last season.
French wheat exports to outside the European Union rebounded in March but non-EU shipments in the first nine months of 2016/17 remain well below last season after the worst harvest in three decades, customs data showed on Wednesday.
In Germany, cash market selling premiums in Hamburg were marked down to compensate for the overnight rise in Paris, with background support again coming from strong demand from the animal feed industry.
Standard wheat with 12 percent protein content for May delivery in Hamburg was offered for sale at 2.5 euros over the Paris December contract against 3.5 euros over on Tuesday. Buyers were seeking 1.5 euros over.
Feed wheat for May delivery in Germany's South Oldenburg feed wheat market was quoted about 6 to 7 euros over Hamburg milling wheat on Wednesday at around 181 euros a tonne.
"The German internal market continues to provide the main demand driver rather than exports," one German trader said. "The euro's weaker trend is very welcome but it needs to drop a lot more to reach levels which increase the chances of new export sales."
"Animal feed compounders seem to have been expecting falling prices because of large world wheat supplies but markets have not been as weak as hoped."
In rapeseed, renewed concern about late winter damage to crops in Poland was generated by deep frosts in the centre and east of the country.
"Frosts have happened at the flowering stage and it looks like some damage may have been suffered but it is too early to assess the extent," one Polish crop analyst said.
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