PARIS: Euronext wheat edged higher on Friday as chart support and a rebound in Chicago helped stem losses fuelled by a surge in the euro. May wheat on Euronext was up 0.6% at 217.75 euros ($246.65) a metric ton by 1522 GMT.
The contract earlier fell to 215.00 euros, matching a one-year low set on March 28. Over the week, the contract was down nearly 2%, having retreated from a two-week peak of 226.25 euros on Tuesday. In ongoing financial markets turmoil fanned by tariff announcements by the United States and China, the euro jumped to a three-year high against the dollar.
The dollar’s slide helped push up Chicago wheat, though the euro’s strength remained a drag on European export prospects. “Another very strong rise in the euro today is damaging west EU export competitiveness,” one German trader said.
“Now the Black Sea has taken the price lead back, especially Romania for buyers who do not want the extra war risk of Ukrainian supplies.” In the crucial Egyptian market, he said Romanian 11.5% protein wheat was on Friday around $258-$259 a ton cost and freight (c&f) included, about $3 cheaper than French depending on Euronext and euro levels. But Ukrainian wheat was even cheaper at around $256-$257 a ton c&f to Egypt.
Cheap prices for 2025 new-crop Ukrainian feed wheat were seen in north Germany and the Netherlands at 206-212 euros a ton including delivery. After recent rumours of French wheat sales to Egypt, there was renewed concern that France may struggle to clear large stocks after a slow export season.
A sharp fall in a monthly import subsidy in Morocco has also tempered expectations of large April sales. Traders are watching out for a next Algerian soft wheat tender to see if French chances improve after a diplomatic agreement last Sunday to end a rift between Paris and Algiers.
Traders are also monitoring rain forecasts in France and Germany in the week ahead after a very dry start to spring. The dry spell has slowed crop sales in north Germany and also Denmark as farmers anticipated a possible rise in prices, another trader said.
In France, the condition of the main wheat crop declined marginally last week but remained well above the level a year ago when heavy rain led to a poor harvest, data from farm office FranceAgriMer showed.
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