HAMBURG/PARIS: Euronext wheat edged down on Monday as traders adjusted positions before widely followed US government crop forecasts, while recent hopes of more French exports cooled. September wheat on Euronext fell 0.8% to 194.75 euros ($225.72) a metric ton at 1523 GMT and December fell 0.7% to 197.75 euros a ton, with both positions holding below the psychological 200 euro threshold.
September futures last week found some support in short-covering by investors, while dealers said they expected to see more bouts of short-covering prior to this Friday’s expiry of options.
Supply pressure persisted ahead of monthly US Department of Agriculture supply-and-demand projections due on Tuesday, which will be closely watched for revisions to US corn and soybean production forecasts. “Given the size of open interest, funds are far from finished rolling their positions,” one dealer said. “Merchants seemed to have bought Matif (Euronext) in expectation of export business but that’s not happening.” Availability of French wheat after a brisk harvest that showed good yields and quality had fuelled talk of more French shipments.
However, after a recent loading for Tunisia, rumoured shipments for Thailand are yet to be confirmed, while exports from Russia were forecast to increase after a slow start.
Germany’s wheat harvest resumed on a wide scale over the weekend, as hot, sunny weather dried out grains after weeks of rain. “This week and next week is forecast to be hot and dry, so fast harvest progress is expected,” one German trader said.
“Belief is that German wheat suffered quality damage from rain, with expectations around 30% of Germany’s crop could only reach animal feed standard. But as Germany has a huge export surplus and the Black Sea is likely to dominate export sales in coming months, the world is unlikely to miss German wheat.”
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