European wheat prices dropped on Monday after a fall on US markets and as investors took a breather after a sharp rise the previous week, traders said. December milling wheat, the new-crop benchmark on Euronext, was down 1.3 percent by 1530 GMT at 193.00 euros a tonne after touching a three-week low of 192.25 euros. It had hit a high of 197.25 euros in intraday trade on Friday.
In Chicago, December wheat was 2.5 percent lower at $5.49-1/4. The Euronext November maize contract was down 1.8 percent at 187.50 euros a tonne. It had risen to 193 euros on Friday. Rain over the weekend has hampered wheat harvesting in northern France but it came as a relief in maize regions although the amount varied. "Caution is still called for. There is some maize that is close to turning into pop corn," a trader said.
Good yields reported before the weekend suggested wheat crops had coped relatively well with recent hot, dry weather, although there was uncertainty about later-maturing wheat still to be harvested in the north. Forecaster Meteo France sees mostly dry weather and seasonal temperatures in the northern part of the country later in the week. Rainfall on mature wheat crops can hurt specific weight, a key element in bread making.
GERMANY, POLAND In Germany, attention was on the start of the wheat harvest with a lack of farmer selling supporting. Wheat harvesting is underway in south and central Germany and will move north in stages in coming weeks. "There is uncertainty about what impact the heatwave in July had on crops," one German trader said. "Farmer selling is also restrained because of dissatisfaction with current low outright prices."
New crop standard wheat with 12 percent protein content for September delivery in Hamburg was offered for sale at 3 euros over the Paris December contract, up about 1 euro on Friday because of early day falls in Paris, with buyers seeking 2 euros over Paris. In Poland, new crop wheat prices were firm, partly on low farmer selling with producers unwilling to accept lower prices as international markets fell in the past week. Polish 12.5 percent protein wheat was quoted at around 770 zloty (187.1 euros) a tonne for August/September delivery to ports, up 10 zloty in the past week.
"Millers in south Poland bought some quantities of new crop milling wheat from Slovakia and the Czech Republic at 720 to 750 zloty a tonne delivered to mills and then lowered their purchasing prices by hefty 50 to 60 zloty to 690 to 700 zloty as they wait for the Polish crop," a Polish trader said.
Two ships were loaded in Gdynia with old crop milling wheat in the last 10 days - 63,000 tonnes to Saudi Arabia and 25,000 to Algeria - and another three ships of 25,000 tonnes each were loading in Gdynia, the trader said. "Poland's old crop export loading programme is then expected to end and new crop wheat exports are not running yet," the trader said.
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