Euronext wheat slips again amid export gloom
PARIS, Aug 23 (Reuters) -Euronext wheat fell for a third day on Friday to hold near a five-month low as a rising euro and ample supply of cheaper Black Sea grain kept traders gloomy about export prospects.
December wheat BL2Z4, the most active position on Paris-based Euronext, settled 0.4% lower at 208.75 euros ($233.17) a metric ton.
The contract nonetheless stayed above Thursday's low of 207.75 euros, its lowest since March 11.
Less-liquid September BL2U4, which expires early next month, settled 1.1% down at 194.50 euros. It earlier set a new contract low at 193.750 euros that marked another five-month low for a front-month price BL2c1.
The euro EUR= climbed to a fresh one-year high against the dollar as the U.S. currency slid after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave a clear signal that a long-anticipated U.S. interest rate cut would come next month. FRX/
Chicago wheat Wv1 also fell, despite the export-boosting drop in the dollar, as Black Sea competition hung over the market. GRA/
"The wheat market seems to be lacking any enthusiasm, which is allowing prices to drift lower. U.S. prices seem destined to test recent lows, European farmers remain strong-holders (of grain), and Black Sea supplies continue to look plentiful," British merchant ADM Agriculture said in a note.
"While this scenario remains, it is difficult to paint a bullish factor to the market."
Russian 12.5% protein for September Black Sea shipment was at around $215-$218 a ton FOB, Russian 11.5% at around $212, traders said.
Ukrainian 11.5% wheat was offered at around $219 a ton FOB with European buying interest much lower at $198-$200 FOB Odesa.
“Cheap Black Sea wheat is still being offered at low prices the west EU cannot match,” a German trader said.
“After the poor quality harvests in France and Germany, some European buyers are talking about buying milling wheat from Ukraine at low prices along with the usual large volumes of Ukrainian feed wheat.”
In France, farmers finished harvesting the soft wheat crop last week, farm office FranceAgriMer said on Friday.
The French wheat crop is expected to yield the lowest volume since the 1980s and also show mixed quality after torrential rain this year.
Outside Europe, workers at Canadian National Railway CNR.TO began returning to work on Friday following a rail stoppage that began Thursday morning, reducing the risk of disruption to massive Canadian crop exports.
($1 = 0.8953 euros)
Reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Michael Hogan in Hamburg; Editing by Aurora Ellis
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