PARIS: Euronext wheat retreated on Wednesday from a one-week high as a rally in Chicago grains faltered and concerns over Black Sea supplies eased, traders said.
December wheat on Paris-based Euronext was down 2.2% at 319.00 euros ($317.98) a tonne by 1605 GMT.
It earlier reached a new one-week high at 329.50 euros, rebounding further from last week’s six-month low of 301.25 euros, before facing chart resistance, according to dealers.
Wheat markets had drawn impetus from a rally in Chicago corn and soybeans after disappointing early results from a major US Midwest field tour.
However, the annual Pro Farmer tour reached more promising crop zones on its third day on Wednesday, while weather forecasts pointed to beneficial rain in the Midwest in the week ahead.
“The rally was US crop tour-related, with the first two days bullish,” a futures dealer said.
The price rise had also been encouraged by fears of an escalation in fighting in Ukraine, amid warnings of possible Russian attacks on Kyiv as Ukraine marked independence from Soviet rule.
EU 2022/23 soft wheat exports at 3.75MT
But the absence of major incidents and reports of further price falls for Ukrainian and Russian wheat removed some support from Euronext, traders said.
Tuesday’s news of a purchase of 240,000 tonnes of Russian wheat by Egypt was also weighing.
“Russia’s wheat harvest looks big and the ships continue to sail from Ukraine regularly,” one German trader said.
“Some importers are expecting cheaper supplies from the Black Sea in coming weeks, buyers like Egypt are already putting their attention back to Russia.”
Renewed competition from Black Sea supplies took attention away from strong recent demand for European Union wheat, including further sales of French wheat to China last week as reported by traders.
In Germany, the wheat harvest has been generally completed up to three weeks early.
The country’s 2022 winter wheat crop will increase to about 21.8 million tonnes from 21.0 million last year, the association of German farmers said on Tuesday.
European weather forecasts showing showers in the week ahead have eased concerns about corn crop losses and conditions for upcoming planting of winter grains, following the region’s worst drought in centuries.