European wheat futures closed slightly higher on Thursday after the US government gave a lower-than-expected estimate of winter wheat sowings in the United States. March milling wheat on the Paris-based Euronext exchange settled 0.75 euro or 0.4 percent higher at 169.75 euros a tonne.
The US Department of Agriculture's wheat estimated that US farmers sowed the smallest winter wheat area in more than a century in reaction to swelling supplies that have weighed on prices. The area estimate, released by the USDA as part of a series of crop reports, pushed Chicago wheat futures higher. "The USDA data look pretty bullish for wheat with the drop in sowings," one futures dealer said.
Euronext wheat had traded little changed ahead of the USDA data, which are closely watched by grain investors. However, the USDA also raised its forecast for global wheat stocks in 2016/17 to a new record in a reminder of hefty supplies. A sharp rise in the euro against the dollar capped Euronext prices.
Weekly data from the European Commission showed that European Union soft wheat exports had reached 13.2 million tonnes by Jan. 10, down 1 percent from a year earlier. The EU also awarded 570,000 tonnes of wheat imports from Ukraine under a tariff-free quota for 2017 and cleared the entire 450,000 tonnes of duty-free Ukrainian maize available this year, imports that could weigh on EU prices.
Current loading activity at ports had underpinned German wheat prices in otherwise quiet trading earlier in the day before the USDA reports. Standard wheat with 12 percent protein content for January delivery in Hamburg was offered for sale unchanged at 4.5 euros over the Paris March contract. Buyers were seeking 4.0 euros over.
"There is a active lineup of ship loadings scheduled for the second half of the month which is supportive," one German trader said. "One surprisingly large customer for Germany this month was South Africa," he said. "I estimate four ships with a total 170,000 tonnes of German wheat will sail from German ports for South Africa in the first half of January."