EU wheat dips from three-month high ahead of Algeria tender

• Chicago wheat shed about 1.5pc in US trading after hitting its highest in more than three months.
• Weekly EU data showed soft wheat exports so far in 2019/20 had reached 8.1 million tonnes.

PARIS: European wheat futures eased from a three-month high on Monday, curbed by a pullback in Chicago as traders waited to see if a tender called by Algeria would provide further demand impetus.

Technical resistance on price charts and the possibility that a recent rally may have been overdone contributed to Monday's weakness, though prices remained supported by steady international demand, rising Black Sea markets and worsening harvest prospects in the southern hemisphere, traders said.

Benchmark December milling wheat on Paris-based Euronext settled 0.50 euros, or 0.3pc, down at 180.75 euros ($201.54) a tonne after touching a three-month high of 182.25 euros.

Chicago wheat shed about 1.5pc in US trading after hitting its highest in more than three months.

"People are thinking wheat needs to fall back, but no one really wants to go short.

They're being cautious," a French trader said.

The rally in wheat markets has been fuelled by adverse growing weather in Argentina and Australia as well as a run of import tenders.

Rising prices in Russia and Ukraine, the main export rivals to European Union producers such as France and Germany, have also sustained the rally on Euronext.

"The continuing rise in Russian and Ukrainian prices is in fact the key support factor for French wheat," consultancy Agritel said in a note.

Traders were awaiting a tender on Tuesday from Algeria, the main export outlet for French wheat, to gauge competition from other EU origins as well as Argentina.

Saudi Arabia's state grain buyer SAGO on Monday announced the purchase of 605,000 tonnes of wheat in a tender, raising hopes of fresh sales for high-protein German wheat.

Competition in the Saudi tenders has increased since the country relaxed insect damage rules in August, opening the door to offers of wheat from the Black Sea region including Russia.

"Despite the presence of Russian offers in the Saudi tender I think Germany and other EU export regions in the Baltic will again be the main origins used to supply the purchase," said one trader who participated in the SAGO tender.

"Russian prices are looking high and there is also concern about Saudi quality, with some exporters unwilling to offer Russian wheat in case it is rejected for quality reasons."

Standard bread wheat with 12pc protein for November delivery in Hamburg was offered for sale unchanged at 2 euros below Paris December. Buyers were seeking at least 3 euros below Paris.

Weekly EU data showed soft wheat exports so far in 2019/20 had reached 8.1 million tonnes, up 51pc from the same period of the previous season.