PARIS: Euronext wheat futures rose on Friday after contract lows encouraged technical buying and rekindled export hopes, including possible French sales to Egypt, traders said.
September wheat settled up 0.8% at 209.75 euros ($238.53) a metric ton. It earlier reached a one-week high at 212.00 euros as it rebounded from a contract low of 206.25 euros on Thursday.
Front-month May futures ended down 0.1% at 209.25 euros after also hitting a one-week high as they moved away from a contract low on Tuesday. The euro eased further from a 3-1/2 year high against the dollar struck on Monday, supporting the competitiveness of Western European wheat.
Like a month ago, when Euronext fell to one-year lows, this week’s price fall stirred talk of interest in French wheat from major importer Egypt. Traders said there was unconfirmed talk that at least one vessel of French wheat had been sold for shipment next month, though they cautioned previous rumours had not been followed by actual shipments.
Improving crop weather in major northern hemisphere production belts nonetheless continued to curb wheat prices, including in Chicago. In Ukraine, conditions were improving after a cold start to April, leading to increased offers of new-crop wheat, according to traders.
“Cheap offers for Ukrainian new-crop feed wheat were seen this week,” a German trader said. “There was a lack of weather risk in Ukraine this week while the sharp moves in the dollar’s value made Ukrainian sellers more willing to agree deals in euros.” Ukrainian 2025 crop feed wheat was quoted around 203-205 euros a ton including delivery to north Germany, while quotes for delivery to the Netherlands as low as 198 euros a ton were heard.
In France, the state of soft wheat crops declined slightly last week, data from farm office FranceAgriMer showed, though traders expect rain in the past week to help crops after a dry start to spring. In Germany, Rhine river levels have risen after rain this week, allowing vessels to carry more cargo and normal sailings with full loads in northern parts of the river, commodity traders said on Friday.
The condition of France’s main wheat crop declined slightly last week, data from farm office FranceAgriMer showed on Friday, as rain started to return to the country’s grain belts after a dry start to spring. In a weekly cereal report, FranceAgriMer estimated that 74% of soft wheat crops were in good or excellent condition by April 21, down from 75% a week earlier.
That was still well above a score of 63% a year ago when torrential rain hurt crops and led to the smallest wheat harvest since the 1980s. A lack of rain in northern France in recent weeks has become a concern for the grain market, though showers since last weekend are expected to improve the situation.
The condition of winter barley also slipped last week, with 70% of crops rated good or excellent against 72% a week earlier. That brought the score closer to a year-ago level of 66%.
The good/excellent ratings for durum wheat and spring barley were unchanged on the week at 76% and 84%, respectively. Maize planting, which has been helped by the dry start to spring, remained ahead of the usual pace.
FranceAgriMer estimated that 50% of French grain maize had been sown by April 21, up from 39% a week ago and a five-year average of 42%. However, traders are watching to see if heavy rain in southwest France, a major maize-growing region, will slow field work there.
Comments
Comments are closed.