PARIS: European wheat was flat on Tuesday as traders were waiting to have a clearer picture on global supplies and pressured by concern of competition from Russian wheat in one of Europe’s key export markets, Algeria.

Benchmark September milling wheat on Paris-based Euronext was unchanged by 1515 GMT at 207.25 euros a tonne.

By the same time on the Chicago Board of Trade most traded wheat was virtually unchanged at $6.64-3/4 a bushel.

“The global picture is still blurry. There are concerns on the other side of the Atlantic but over here things are looking good,” a trader said.

In its latest crop condition report on Monday the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said just 27% of the wheat crop was in good-to-excellent shape, a 10-point drop that was well below expectations.

Meanwhile in Europe, yields for this year’s harvest in the 27-member bloc were now expected to be well above five-year averages for all winter cereals as well as rapeseed, the EU’s crop monitoring unit, MARS, said on Monday.

MARS raised its grain yield forecasts in the bloc for the second month in a row, confirming that warm and wet weather had helped crop development after a cold snap earlier in the season.

Concern also mounted after news that Russian wheat is heading to Algeria, the first such shipment in more than four years. The North African country is one of the world’s biggest wheat importers and by far France’s largest wheat buyer. Eduard Zernin, who heads the Russian union of grain exporters, estimated on Tuesday that Russia may boost supplies to Algeria to up to 1 million tonnes of wheat in the 2021/22 marketing season.

Traders were also awaiting an update on the status of a shipment of French wheat rejected by Algeria last week, after two dead animals were found in the cargo.