European wheat prices fell to their lowest in more than a week on Thursday, mainly pressured by lackluster exports and an upward revision of French ending stocks. December, the benchmark on Paris-based Euronext milling wheat futures, settled 1.2 percent lower at 179.25 euros a tonne, after hitting 179.00 euros in earlier trade, the lowest since November 3. Traders pegged the next support at 178 euros.
There was little support from US wheat futures in Chicago, which were only slightly higher, mainly on front month December. Egypt's state buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) bought only one cargo of French wheat among the four it bought in two tenders in a row this week, showing that French wheat still had some margin to become competitive, freight included.
In a clear sign of the slow export rhythm in France, for the second time this season silo operator Senalia stopped taking delivery of milling wheat at Rouen port as of Thursday due to a lack of storage space linked to slow export demand. Also weighing on prices was French farm office FranceAgriMer's 400,000 tonne rise in its estimate of total domestic soft wheat stocks this season to 5.2 million tonnes, now more than double the volume in stores at the end of the 2014/2015 season.
The European Union granted export licences for 401,000 tonnes of soft wheat this week, a volume higher than last week but the total volume since the beginning of the season, at 7.5 million tonnes, was still 31 percent below the same time last season.