Euronext wheat futures were little changed on Monday in light trade as a US holiday closure deprived the European market of impetus while traders waited to see the impact of a severe cold spell. March milling wheat, the benchmark contract on the Paris-based Euronext exchange, was unchanged on the day at 169.75 euros a tonne by 1641 GMT.
CME Group's March EU wheat contract was up 0.25 euro or 0.1 percent at 174.25 euros a tonne. US markets, including Chicago grain futures, were closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The European market drew some support from a weaker euro and last week's US government estimate putting winter wheat sowings in the United States below market expectations and at their lowest since 1909.
Traders had played down the risk of widespread damage to European crops from freezing temperatures this month, partly due to protective snow cover.But with severe cold moving west this week to France, where there has been less snowfall, the situation was being monitored, French traders said.
In Germany, cash market premiums in Hamburg were weaker in thin demand during the US public holiday and with dealers taking a relaxed view of frosts there. Standard wheat with 12 percent protein content for January delivery in Hamburg was offered for sale at 4.0 euros over the Paris March contract against 4.5 euros over on Friday.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.