March wheat on the Paris-based Euronext settled 1% lower at 286 euros ($310.74) a tonne, showing a slight increase of 0.4% over the week.
The contract had fallen to an 11-month low on Monday before recovering as traders saw the market as technically oversold while news headlines drew attention back to the conflict in the region. of the Black Sea.
Rumors of renewed demand from Morocco, the largest export destination for European Union wheat so far this season, and an increase in weekly US wheat export sales also supported the – futures.
“Wheat markets in phases of some recovery as the war in Ukraine rose back on the agenda,” CRM Agri consultancy said in a note.
“With the euro’s strengthening trend against the dollar also easing, Paris wheat entered its first positive week since Christmas.”
Wheat production in Ukraine may not exceed 16 million tonnes in 2023, marking the second annual decline as farmers cut planting due to the impact of Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian grain sector group said Thursday.
A United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) official, meanwhile, said the agency sees Russia’s official estimate of the country’s wheat crop as too high.
However, wheat remained subdued by the corn and soybean markets, which were under pressure from improved rains in Argentina, and continued exports of Russian and Ukrainian wheat.
“Cheap wheat from Russia and Ukraine on FOB terms seems likely to cover the main export demand from the main importers of the Middle East and North Africa,” said a German trader.
Origins remained competitive despite rising ship insurance costs and a backlog of vessels using the Black Sea corridor from Ukraine, traders said.
Standard 12% protein wheat for February delivery in Hamburg was offered for sale at a premium of around 11 euros over the Euronext March contract but with little buying interest evident.
($1 = 0.9204 euro)
(Reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Michael Hogan in Hamburg; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
