PARIS: European wheat futures fell for a second session on Thursday to their lowest in a week as doubts over the scale of crop damage in the United States and Europe encouraged wheat markets to give back weather-fuelled gains from earlier in the week.
December milling wheat on the Paris-based Euronext exchange settled 1.75 euros, or 1.0 percent, lower at 171.50 euros a tonne.
It earlier touched a one-week low of 171.25 euros as it pulled away from Tuesday's near two-month high of 176.75 euros.
Chicago futures slid more than 3 percent as the results of a crop tour in top US wheat producing state, Kansas, projected above-average yields and suggested it was too early to establish the impact of a snow storm last weekend.
In France, meanwhile, rain this week has given some relief to crops that have endured extremely dry conditions along with late frosts during April.
"There's no impetus for the market to go higher because in France there hasn't really been any confirmation of drought or frost damage," a French broker said.
"It's the same thing in the US - the market is waiting for confirmation of crop damage."
Spot May futures on Euronext saw sharper losses than new-crop positions, ending down 2.3 percent at 167.25 euros, as the run-up to the front month's expiry on May 10 led participants to close positions.
Traders said there was concern about the expiry process given that May futures were still showing a relatively large open interest of nearly 18,000 50-tonne lots at the previous close, despite a Wednesday deadline for submitting storage certificates for delivery.
In export news, European Union soft wheat exports had reached 20.7 million tonnes by May 2, down 19 percent from a year earlier, official data showed.
Traders were also awaiting confirmation that an agreement announced by Russia on Wednesday to resume wheat trade with Turkey, its second-largest export market, would be implemented.
In Germany, cash market selling premiums in Hamburg were again supported by strong feed wheat demand.
Standard wheat with 12 percent protein content for May delivery in Hamburg was offered for sale unchanged at 6 euros over the Paris May contract. Buyers were seeking 5 euros over.
Feed wheat for May delivery in Germany's South Oldenburg feed wheat market was quoted at about 5 euros over Hamburg milling wheat for much of the day at around 180 euros a tonne.
"Feed wheat demand remains strong and so milling wheat is simply being sold as feed," one German trader said. "Wheat is a commodity and will be sold for the highest price regardless of the final use."
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