Russian wheat prices rise further on stronger rouble

Russian wheat prices rose for the second consecutive week due to a stronger rouble and the dollar's fall against global currencies, analysts said on Monday.
Black Sea prices for Russian wheat with 12.5 percent protein content for February supply were $185 per tonne on a free-on-board (FOB) basis at the end of last week, up $2 from the previous week, Russian agricultural consultancy IKAR said.
SovEcon, another Moscow-based consultancy, quoted FOB wheat at $183.5 a tonne, up $1.5.
Russia needs to find new markets for its grain exports and speed up supplies abroad to ease pressure on the domestic market after a record crop of 119 million tonnes in 2016, SovEcon said in separate note on Monday.
The country exported 21.3 million tonnes of grain between July 1 and January 18, unchanged from a year ago, including 16.7 million tonnes of wheat, the agriculture ministry said.
The ministry sees Russia exporting between 35 million and 37 million tonnes of grain in the 2016/17 marketing year, which lasts until the end of June, it said on Sunday. As to prospects for the 2017 crop, weather conditions remain favourable for winter grain sowings in general, SovEcon said, adding that a cold spell was expected in Russia this week but that the temperature would not fall to a harmful level.
Domestic prices for third-class wheat, excluding delivery costs, were flat at 10,650 roubles ($179) a tonne in the European part of Russia, according to SovEcon.
Sunflower seed prices fell 400 roubles to 20,200 roubles a tonne, SovEcon said. Domestic sunflower oil prices fell 600 roubles to 46,675 roubles, while export oil prices were flat at $760 a tonne. IKAR's white sugar price index for southern Russia fell $32 to $522 a tonne as of January 20.