MOSCOW: Russian export and domestic wheat prices fell last week under pressure from the new crop and initial slack demand from exporters, analysts said on Monday.

Russian wheat with 12.5% protein loaded from Black Sea ports was at $197.5 a tonne free on board (FOB) at the end of last week, down $3 from the previous week, SovEcon agriculture consultancy said. Barley remained at $175 a tonne.

Another consultancy, IKAR, pegged wheat for supply in August at $197 a tonne.

Russia's July wheat exports are expected to be lower than a year ago as the world's largest wheat exporter began harvesting wheat later this year, analysts said last week.

Some exporters have also traded cautiously in recent months for deliveries in July due to uncertainty about the size of the southern region's crop and after losses occurred a year ago when farmers held back grain.

This reduced demand may lead to more aggressive selling from local farmers who need to sell part of their crop now, SovEcon said. It cut its forecast for Russia's 2020 wheat crop earlier on Monday.

This and next week are expected to be drier than normal in Russia, but the precipitation seen in previous weeks will help to keep the crops unaffected, SovEcon said.