Russian wheat prices fall with global benchmark, rouble

MOSCOW: Russian wheat export prices fell last week with the global benchmark in Chicago and because of a weaker rouble, analysts said on Monday.

Chicago wheat futures slid for a sixth straight session on a lack of demand for U.S. cargoes despite tightening world supplies. The rouble touched its weakest level against the dollar since April 2016 last week amid new U.S. sanctions.

Black Sea prices for Russian wheat with 12.5 percent protein content were at $225 per tonne on a free on board (FOB) basis at the end of last week, down $5 from a week earlier, IKAR agriculture consultancy said in a note.

SovEcon, another Moscow-based consultancy, quoted FOB wheat down $2 at $225 a tonne, with barley flat at $231 a tonne.

By Aug. 22, Russia had exported 7.8 million tonnes of grain since the July 1 start of the 2018/19 season, up 42 percent compared to the same period the previous year. This included 6.4 million tonnes of wheat, the Agriculture Ministry said.

Some Russian farmers are holding back on their sales of high-quality wheat amid the rouble's weakening and high demand from exporters, SovEcon said.

Domestic prices for third-class wheat were up 150 roubles at  10,550 roubles ($157.5) a tonne at the end of last week in the European part of Russia on an ex-works basis, according to SovEcon. Ex-works supply does not include delivery costs.

Prices for the new crop of sunflower seed are being set at around 19,000 roubles per tonne, SovEcon said. Domestic prices for sunflower oil were flat at 46,825 roubles a tonne.

Meanwhile, export prices for sunflower oil fell $5 to $685 per tonne, the lowest level for at least 10 years due to high global stocks and expectations of large crops in Russia and Ukraine, the consultancy said.

IKAR's white sugar price index for southern Russia was at $372.10 a tonne as of Aug. 24, down $46.5 from a week earlier.