EU wheat falls to four-month low as Black Sea competition persists
PARIS, Aug 14 (Reuters) -Euronext wheat fell for a third day on Wednesday to its lowest in more than four months as competition from cheaper Black Sea supplies outweighed disappointing harvests in western Europe, traders said.
December wheat BL2Z4 on Euronext settled 1.3% down at 219.50 euros ($241.85) per metric ton.
The contract earlier fell to its lowest since late March at 219.25 euros as it breached the 220 euro chart support level.
September futures BL2U4 fell more sharply, ending 2.1% down at 206.25 euros, after also reaching their lowest since March at 205.50 euros.
The front-month position was marked by adjustments before Thursday's expiry of options against the contract.
In France, where farmers are harvesting the smallest crop since the 1980s following months of heavy rain, wheat quality appeared mixed, especially for test weights, farm office FranceAgriMer said on Wednesday.
Despite a reduced export surplus, France still needed to find overseas demand, and uneven quality may force suppliers to sell it more cheaply, traders said.
"France needs to find a market for the crop quality we have," a futures dealer said. "There were exports in July drawing on old-crop stocks but we need a second wind."
A slow start to the season for EU wheat exports and early-season imports of wheat and maize from Ukraine were contributing to bearish sentiment.
Traders were monitoring direct talks between Egypt and suppliers. Black Sea origins including Russian wheat were seen in contention as Egypt seeks to add to the 280,000 tons of Black Sea wheat it bought in a tender on Monday. GRA/TEND
Russian 11.5% protein wheat for August/September Black Sea shipment was on Wednesday at around $212-$215 a ton FOB, while Russian 12.5% protein was around $218-$222 a ton FOB.
Germany’s rain-delayed wheat harvest is expected to finish this week and work is also ending in Poland.
“Yields in Poland could be 10-15% lower than last year,” one Polish trader said. “Polish wheat quality is generally OK, but the percentage of feed wheat is likely to be larger than expected.”
Polish 12.5% protein wheat for August/September delivery to ports fell 20 zloty on the week to around 900 zloty (209.9 euros) a ton in thin export demand.
Activity in Poland was thin, with farmers reluctant to sell and exports slow, the trader added, estimating new-season wheat exports by July 24 at 181,000 tons, only a third of last year's level.
($1 = 0.9076 euros)
Reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Michael Hogan in Hamburg; Editing by Jan Harvey
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