Euronext wheat futures extended gains on Monday to a one-week high, spurred on by a pre-weekend rally on the US market and adjustments linked to the expiry of options in Paris. Volumes were light as a market closure in the Chicago for US Presidents Day deprived European prices of impetus.
Trading in new-crop futures also remained curbed by uncertainty over how the launch of a new, higher-quality wheat contract by Euronext next month, plus the expected launch of rival futures by CME Group, will affect pricing.
March wheat futures on Euronext unofficially closed 2.00 euros, or 1.1 percent, up at 189.00 euros a tonne, just off a session high of 189.25 euros touched shortly before the close.
"Friday's close in Chicago encouraged the market to move higher," one dealer said. "The options are also causing a bit of movement, especially as commercial operators aren't really around today."
Options on Euronext March futures expired at the end of Monday's session.
Chicago wheat futures rose sharply on Friday in a short-covering bounce after falling earlier in the week following a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) crop report that raised projected global wheat stocks.
Forecasts for extreme cold in the US Midwest encouraged precautionary buying before the weekend, although crop conditions in west Europe remained favourable, traders said.
European prices continued to be underpinned by strong exports, as illustrated by a record pace of EU export certificates and rising estimates among analysts.
On Germany's cash market, standard wheat with 12 percent protein content for delivery in Hamburg in March was offered for sale at an unchanged premium of 6 euros over the Paris March contract. Buyers were offering 5 euros over.
"The positive export outlook continues to support premiums with several bulk carriers loading wheat in Germany including one for shipment to South Africa," one German trader said.
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