Wheat prices in western Europe rose on Wednesday, buoyed mainly by reports that China had bought large quantities of wheat from Australia and the United States, and talk it could import more after rains damaged its domestic crop. November milling wheat was up 1.50 euros or 0.78 percent at 194.75 euros ($250) a tonne by 1532 GMT. It was also supported by bargain-hunting after hitting a one-year low on Tuesday.
China has bought 300,000 tonnes of new-crop Australian low-protein wheat in recent deals for shipment in January and 360,000 tonnes of US-grown soft red winter wheat for delivery this marketing year. Some traders said China may have bought much more US wheat.
Grains were also supported by rising oil prices, which gained on a sharp decline in crude stockpiles in the United States and political unrest in Egypt, which could destabilise the Middle East and lead to supply disruptions. A purchase by Egypt, the world's biggest wheat importer, of 180,000 tonnes of Ukrainian and Romanian wheat offered signs of fresh demand, but analysts and traders said also noted the impact of rising political turmoil on Egyptian grain purchases. "With developments in Egypt far from stable and (Islamist President Mohamed) Mursi and the Egyptian army at deadlock, the future purchasing programme of wheat by GASC is far from clear," analyst FCStone said in a note.
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