PARIS: European wheat ended the month nearly flat, with a lack of fresh news to justify a clear move in any direction, traders said. Benchmark December milling wheat on Paris-based Euronext closed 0.25 euro lower at 182.50 euros a tonne, nearly unchanged from the 182.75 euros recorded at the end of June.

"Some funds are rounding up their position before going on holiday but activity remains thin," one trader said. "The market is waiting for some news to justify a move and there are not many out there," a trader said.

At the same time, most traded wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.3% at $5.31. Traders explained the difference in direction between Paris and Chicago by the rise of the euro against the dollar.

The dollar was on track for its biggest monthly drop in a decade on Friday as concerns that an increase in US coronavirus cases will slow the economic recovery. Just a dozen cargoes of grain exports were expected in French ports next week, mostly in the Atlantic ports of Rouen and La Pallice.

French farmers had harvested 90% of this year's soft wheat crop by July 27, up from 71% a week earlier and 81% by the same stage last year, farm office FranceAgriMer said on Friday.