PARIS: European wheat prices rose on Wednesday, supported by concerns about both the United States where dry weather is hurting spring wheat and about Europe where wet weather is hampering the harvest and potentially threatening crop quality.
Benchmark December milling wheat on Paris-based Euronext closed 1.6% higher at 218.25 euros a tonne.
"What is supporting the market is the weather mainly, a lack of rain in the two Dakota, Manitoba and Saskatchewan and, on the opposite, in Europe, rain is forecast for France, Baltic Germany and the UK, which continues to fuel quality fears and delays harvests," a trader said.
Scouts on an annual crop tour said on Tuesday spring wheat yields in southern and east central North Dakota were well below average after a severe drought slashed production potential in the country's top producing state.
In France, more wet weather is forecast at the end of the week in the large grain basket in the northern part of the country. The harvest is already running far behind last year.
"The concrete impact, probably more on quality than on quantity, will only be known when it will all be gathered but there is certainly some concern among farmers," one trader said.
EU export data released on Tuesday showing a 50% fall on last year was disappointing, but shipments could pick up as the harvest comes in and the data starts to include large sales of Romanian wheat sold to Egypt in the past months, including one deal on Tuesday, traders said.
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