European milling wheat futures edged lower in thin trade on Friday in step with the US market as a slowdown in exports and improved weather conditions weighed on prices. "There is not much going on in the market. We are following Chicago and looking for new demand," one trader said.
On the benchmark Paris futures market, new-crop November milling wheat dropped 1.25 euro or 0.6 percent to 209.00 euros a tonne by 1034 GMT for just 1,300 lots (65,000 tonnes), still above the nearly 6-week low of 206.25 euros hit on Wednesday. Front-month May fell 0.50 euro or 0.2 percent at 241.00 euros. Weekly export data on Thursday showed the European Union awarded 237,000 tonnes of wheat export licences, down sharply from 392,000 tonnes the prior week. EU wheat exports are expected to lose momentum in the face of cheaper US competition and a possible revival in sales from Black Sea countries which were mostly absent from export markets in the past few months.
The EU this week cleared the biggest weekly volume of wheat quota imports in three months at just over 100,000 tonnes, with US wheat accounting for 77,000 tonnes. Bearish pressure also came from more favourable weather in Europe this week, which should help winter crops catch up on growth delays and allow spring sowing to accelerate after a cold, wet start to spring. Traders noted that warm, dry weather this week had helped spring sowings and that rain forecast in France and Germany from Friday should give a further boost to winter crops, most of which have already caught up some of the delays.
German prices were weakened by signs of lower export demand and better harvest weather but were still underpinned by continued strong feed wheat prices and lack of farmer selling in some regions. Standard milling wheat for May delivery in Hamburg was offered for sale down 2 euros on late Thursday levels at 248 euros a tonne with buyers at about 247 euros.
"Export demand for EU wheat is cooling as was shown in the sharp drop in EU export licences awarded on Thursday," one trader said. "Rain is also forecast for much of Germany today and on Saturday which will be highly positive for crop development following a dry period as weather warmed up in the last couple of weeks."
Continued buying by feed makers kept feed wheat prices over bread-quality wheat in parts of Germany. Feed wheat for May-June delivery in the South Oldenburg market near the Netherlands was offered for sale down 1 euro and well over milling wheat at 258 euros a tonne. "Feed makers are buying hand-to-mouth and have a continued supply requirement which has been supporting feed wheat prices recently," the trader said. German animal feed producers have reduced supply purchases in the expectation prices will start to fall as large new grain and soybean crops now being harvested in South America enter world markets.
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