European wheat futures fall slightly

Benchmark Euro-pean wheat futures fell slightly on Wednesday as weaker Chicago prices pressured a market otherwise lacking impetus. March milling wheat, the most active contract on Paris-based Euronext, settled 0.50 euros, or 0.3 percent, lower at 169.50 euros a tonne. "Euronext is more or less tracking the US market while staying in a tight price range," one futures dealer said. "The newsflow is more on the US side with the announcements of the Trump administration."
US corn futures fell sharply on Tuesday, partly because of uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump's opposition to existing free-trade agreements, as well as a reported delay in implementing domestic US regulations including targets for biofuel, which absorbs large amounts of US corn. Chicago corn steadied on Wednesday while wheat edged lower in subdued trading.
Wheat markets were also being capped by a large global surplus and resistance levels on price charts after being lifted earlier in the month by weather risks and export demand. In France, traders noted steep cash premiums for maize (corn) in Brittany, France's main region for animal feed production, quoted at 19 euros over Euronext for January delivery versus a 5 euro premium in the south-west.
Supply tensions after a poor French harvest and low water levels on the Rhine, which have hampered import flows into Europe from Rotterdam, were being exacerbated in Brittany by the blocking of a cargo of 26,000 tonnes of Romanian maize since last month, brokers said.
The cargo was being tested for suspected residues of an insecticide used during transport, they said. In Germany, cash market premiums in Hamburg were flat. "The market is lacking impulse, with the weaker dollar a disappointment for export prospects," one German trader said.
"There is also a growing feeling that the crops in Germany generally escaped major damage from the deep frosts last week." Standard wheat with 12 percent protein content for February delivery in Hamburg was offered for sale unchanged at 5 euros over the Paris March contract. Buyers were seeking 4.5 euros over.