PARIS: European wheat prices fell on Monday, erasing part of last week’s gains as traders worried that higher prices could undermine export competitiveness, with additional pressure from broader European market declines linked to Middle East tensions.
Benchmark September milling wheat on Paris-based Euronext was down 1.7% by 1618 GMT to 205.00 euros ($236.47) a metric ton. By the same time the most traded wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 2.3% to $5.70 a bushel ($209.4 per metric ton).
“European wheat is far too expensive, it needs to go down if it wants to compete, especially against Russia,” a trader said.
Both European and Russian wheat prices had gained more than 2% last week amid rising geopolitical tensions and weather problems in a number of countries, including Russia, analysts said.
Crop monitoring service MARS on Monday raised its outlook for this year’s soft wheat yield in the European Union, citing high expectations in southern Europe, while noting that dry weather continued to threaten yields in the northern part of the bloc.
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