Euronext wheat futures fell on Friday as quiet holiday trading in Chicago and a plunge in oil prices encouraged the Paris market to consolidate after an earlier one-week high. Benchmark March milling wheat on Paris-based Euronext settled down 1.75 euros, or 0.9 percent, at 202.50 euros ($229.55) a tonne.
It earlier edged up to set a new one-week high at 205.00 euros. That extended Thursday's gains which had been fuelled by a sale of US wheat to Egypt, taken as a sign demand is shifting from top exporter Russia towards other suppliers. But muted reaction from US wheat futures as they resumed trading following Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday and wider investors concerns helped curb the Euronext rally, traders said.
Crude oil prices tumbled amid worries of oversupply while metal markets were sapped by concern about a potential economic slowdown due to a US-China trade dispute. "It's more to do with the sharp fall in oil and the general movement in financial markets, there's no (fundamental) reason for Euronext to be down," one futures dealer said.
Euronext remained underpinned by hopes of an upswing in export demand for non-Russian origins, as suggested by Egypt's purchase of US wheat and news that a first cargo of French wheat in almost five years is due to load for China. Traders said there was talk that a second consignment of French wheat could be loaded for China soon, but it remained unclear what quality of wheat was being exported and for what type of consumption. The physical market in France was quiet on Friday. Activity was partly curbed by the annual assembly of Nord Cereales, a grain terminal operator at the northern port of Dunkirk, which kept some market participants away from their desks, traders said.
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