PARIS: Benchmark wheat futures on Euronext set another contract high on Friday after lower than expected US supply estimates further fuelled a rally triggered by strong European exports.
December milling wheat added as much as 3% to a new life-of-contract high of 265.75 euros ($308.22) a tonne, with traders citing the breaching of the 260 euro chart level as adding to buying impetus.
By 1557 GMT, the contract was up 2.4% at 264.25 euros. Chicago wheat climbed over 3% in US trading to its highest since mid-August. In data issued on Thursday, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) pegged 2021 US wheat production and US wheat stocks on Sept. 1 below average analyst forecasts in a Reuters poll.
The US data overshadowed an upward revision on Thursday to the European Commission’s official estimate of 2021 European Union common wheat production.
“The USDA report has been the trigger for this rally,” a French broker said. “The European Commission increased EU production but we’ve got plenty of import tenders.”
The European market remained underpinned by favourable export prospects, boosted by import demand and a slide in the euro against the dollar.
Tensions in the maize (corn) market were also supporting wheat prices. Harvest delays in Ukraine and reduced production prospects in Romania were fuelling demand for French maize, according to traders.
November maize on Euronext was trading up 2.6% at 236.75 euros a tonne, close to an earlier contract high of 237.00 euros.
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