Paris wheat consolidates, cash prices stay firm on export run

PARIS: Paris wheat futures ended little changed on Friday as a near three-month high for the euro against the dollar offset support from a post-holiday rebound in Chicago.

March milling wheat, the most active contract on the Paris-based Euronext exchange, settled 0.25 euros, or 0.1%, lower at 210.00 euros ($250.99) a tonne.

Chicago wheat, which resumed trading after Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday, recouped some of its sharp losses from Wednesday with support from higher than expected weekly US exports.

Physical market prices in Europe held firm as strong export demand continued to absorb a dwindling harvest surplus.

In France, port data showed more wheat and barley cargoes were due to load in early December.

In a sign of lasting Chinese demand, traders said several vessels at least of 2021 crop French feed barley were thought to have been sold already for shipment next summer.

Traders were also assessing reports that Algeria, the largest importer of European Union wheat, had dismissed the head of state grains agency OAIC.

French soft wheat was nearly all in good condition, a first rating of newly sown crops by farm office FranceAgriMer showed.

In Poland, export prices rose in the past week as strong international demand met a lack of selling by farmers.

Exporter purchase offers for 12.5% protein wheat rose about 10 zloty on the week to around 930 zloty (207 euros) a tonne for December delivery to port silos.

"Polish wheat is still competitive on international markets," one Polish trader said. "A big programme of export shipments continues in Polish ports both for third country shipment and for the EU market."

One ship in Gdynia is loading 60,000 tonnes of wheat for Saudi Arabia. Another ship has just sailed from Gdynia with about 65,000 tonnes for Algeria.

High export prices are causing difficulties in Poland's domestic market, with livestock farmers facing rising costs for feed grains as well as weaker meat prices as coronavirus closures curb demand, the trader added.