Paris wheat slips to 5-month low as rising euro, Black Sea competition weigh
PARIS, Aug 19 (Reuters) -Euronext wheat fell on Monday to a new five-month low as gains for the euro against the dollar underscored export struggles for western European wheat against cheaper Black Sea supplies.
Weak export prospects again took take attention away from poor harvests in France and Germany.
December wheat BL2Z4, the most active position on Paris-based Euronext, settled 1.3% down at 216.00 euros ($239.09) a metric ton.
The contract earlier dropped to 215.50 euros, its lowest since March 20 and just below a previous five-month low from late last week, though it found chart support at 215-216 euros.
Front-month September futures BL2U4 ended 1.3% down at 202.50 euros, approaching last week's five-month low of 201.00 euros but again holding the 200 euro chart floor.
The euro EUR= hit its highest this year against the dollar above $1.10, with the dollar further dampened by expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts. FRX/
"The euro could keep going higher depending on Powell's speech on Friday," a futures dealer said, referring to an address by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that is a focus for financial markets this week.
In Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter, prices declined last week amid lower global prices and weak demand, with analysts expecting new-crop supplies to exert further downward pressure.
Demand sentiment has been tempered by Egypt's failure to secure the massive volume it had sought in an unprecedented import tender a week ago.
Egypt's state buyer GASC then held direct talks with suppliers but without concluding deals, according to traders. Egyptian officials said on Monday they still aimed to reach a target of 3.8 million metric tons of imported wheat by the end of 2024.
In France, sparse wheat export loadings this month have raised concern that demand may be lagging, even in the face of a rain-hit harvest that is set to yield the smallest volume since the 1980s.
Port data compiled by LSEG showed only one cargo of wheat due to load in France currently, a small consignment for Portugal, with barley for China continuing to dominate early-season grain export activity. GRAIN/SHP/FR
($1 = 0.9034 euros)
Reporting by Gus Trompiz; editing by David Evans
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