PARIS: Euronext wheat fell on Friday as traders booked profits after a rally this week amid uncertainty over possible US tariffs against Canada and Mexico.
March milling wheat on Paris-based Euronext settled 1.1% lower at 232.00 euros ($241.81) per metric ton.
The contract had reached a two-week high at 234.75 euros on Thursday after rebounding sharply from a six-week low on Monday.
After lower export forecasts in Russia supported short-covering on Euronext wheat earlier in the week, US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada from Saturday weighed on commodity prices on Friday.
“People remember the trade war with China last time so there is a bit of caution,” a futures dealer said referring to tit-for-tat US and Chinese tariffs during Trump’s previous term. Sources told Reuters Trump may announce tariffs against Canada and Mexico to begin on March 1.
In exports, traders were seeing signs of reduced Russian availability and demand for French feed grains against continued competition from Black Sea wheat.
“The poor EU export picture has not changed this week with Russian prices only rising moderately,” a German trader said. Cheap Ukrainian feed wheat remained in demand and Ukrainian wheat shipments were still brisk, the trader added.
Russian 12.5% protein wheat for February shipment was on Friday around $238-$240 a ton free on board, but with buyers seeking around $235. This compared to $235-$238 late last week.
Ukrainian feed wheat was quoted at 222-225 euros a ton including delivery to north Germany. France, in the midst of its worst wheat export campaign in decades, has seen a run of barley sales overseas, including to Morocco after the country halted imports of German feed grains due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Germany.
In rapeseed, front-month February futures on Euronext expired at 520.25 euros per ton, up 4.5% on the day in a volatile final session. May rapeseed, the most active position on Euronext, settled 0.2% lower at 515.50 euros.
Consultancy Strategie Grains increased its forecast for EU rapeseed output in 2025/26 to 19 million tons from 18.74 million previously, citing favourable weather and a higher area sown.
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