HAMBURG/PARIS: Euronext wheat rose sharply on Monday before giving up most of its gains as support from persisting dry weather in Russia was offset by technical resistance.
September wheat on Paris-based Euronext was up 0.1% at 259.50 euros ($282.52) a metric ton at 1556 GMT. It earlier climbed 2% to approach last week’s one-year high of 269.25 euros, before losing impetus in step with Chicago futures.
Hot weather and limited rain forecast in Russia raised the risk of a further deterioration to crop potential after analysts slashed harvest estimates by around 10 million metric tons in May due to dryness and frosts.
“The hot spell in the Black Sea region had an effect on the market this morning,” a futures dealer said. “But without much news otherwise, prices stayed within chart ranges in light volumes, with technical resistance and support levels weighing.”
Traders were also looking ahead to Algeria’s wheat purchase tender on Tuesday to gauge export competition after thin international demand following price rises.
In France, traders were watching to see if a dry, warm spell forecast this week would improve field conditions after heavy rain in May kept wheat crop ratings at their worst since 2020.
Rain in western Europe was being monitored, including flooding in south Germany, but German traders were not initially expecting a major impact.
“It is tragic for the people hit by floods but problems are mainly alongside rivers and I do not think a lot of farmland has been flooded,” one German trader said. “For me the main problem is disruption to inland waterways shipping including the closure of the Rhine.”
“This could cause problems with delivery of grains from south Germany sold to north Germany and the Netherlands, also with grain shipments from Ukraine via the Danube.”
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