PARIS: European wheat futures edged down on Friday to set another 2-1/2 year low as forecasts of large global supplies continued to pressure the market while an Egyptian import tender underscored stiff export competition.

May wheat, the most active position on Paris-based Euronext, was down 0.5% at 198.75 euros ($214.09) a metric ton by 1637 GMT. It earlier fell to 197.50 euros, a weakest Euronext price since July 2021 and below a previous 2-1/2 year low set on Thursday when May futures breached the psychological 200 euro floor.

Chicago wheat dropped to a new 2-1/2 month low after the US Department of Agriculture projected stocks of US wheat would swell to a four-year high next season despite a smaller expected area for this year’s harvest. Large stocks in Europe are also leading traders to play down the potential impact of rain-reduced planting for this year’s harvest.

“The market, especially for old crop, isn’t short of wheat,” British merchant ADM Agriculture said in a note. “The 2024 harvest outlook in both the UK and EU looks challenging, but any support that this brings is currently being outweighed by the overall fundamental weakness overhanging this season’s grain markets.”

Wednesday’s increase to farm office FranceAgriMer’s forecast of French 2023/24 soft wheat stocks to a 19-year high has contributed to supply pressure.

In a separate update on Friday, FranceArgiMer estimated that French soft wheat crop conditions last week remained at their poorest in four years, though they had stabilised compared with the previous week.