Euronext wheat edged lower on Wednesday as forecasts of rain in parched U.S. wheat belts and an increased estimate of Russia's next harvest reinforced expectations of ample global supply and took attention away from war tensions in the Middle East.
September futures, now the most-active position on Euronext, settled 0.2% down at 208.50 euros ($244.15), after reaching a two-week high of 210.25 euros.
Latest weather charts showed significant rainfall may reach dry parts of the U.S. Plains in the coming two weeks, potentially easing what has been the main crop concern in the northern hemisphere. In top wheat exporter Russia, consultancy Sovecon raised its forecast for the 2026 wheat crop to 89.7 million metric tons, from 87.6 million projected in March.
Crude oil rose as reports of gunfire attacks on several ships in the Strait of Hormuz tempered reaction to Washington's announcement that it would indefinitely extend a ceasefire with Iran. Concerns that the Iran war will inflate harvest production costs have supported grain prices during the conflict.
In Germany, traders said cost inflation was making farmers reluctant to release supplies as they hold out for better prices. "An indirect impact of the Iran war is unwillingness of German farmers to sell old-crop wheat, making it difficult to gather supplies to meet export demand visible from west Africa for June shipment," one German trader said.
In limited export demand, an Algerian buyer was seeking about 30,000 tons of Black Sea wheat at about $265 a ton cost and freight (c&f) included for June shipment. A Turkish buyer was seeking about 10,000 tons of Black Sea 11.5% protein wheat at around $245 a ton c&f for May shipment.
"Turkey's wheat crop appears to be developing very well, and market expectations are growing that Turkey will restrict wheat imports from June or July if a large crop actually arrives," another trader said. A rebound in grain production in Morocco, which the government expects to double this year after a long-term drought ended, could also curb demand from what has been the main export outlet for European Union wheat. Weekly EU data showed that the bloc's soft wheat exports so far this season had reached 19 million tons, up 8% from a year ago, though figures for several countries remained incomplete. Financial investors switched to a net short position in Euronext wheat last week, data from the exchange showed.
($1 = 0.8540 euros)
