Euronext wheat rose on Thursday to a one-week high as a slide in the euro and news of a Saudi tender boosted export sentiment, traders said.
Benchmark December milling wheat BL2Z6 on Paris-based Euronext settled 1.3% up at €239 ($268.11) a metric ton after the day session.
The contract earlier rose to €240.25, its highest since September 24, as it moved further from Tuesday's six-week low of €231.50.
The euro EUR= dropped to its lowest since May 2025 against a broadly stronger dollar, making European grain cheaper for export. FRX/
Saudi Arabia on Thursday announced it is seeking to buy 535,000 metric tons of wheat for shipment in November and December. Traders saw a sign that the recent price fall was stirring fresh demand after Saudi Arabia cancelled its previous wheat tender on September 7 because of high prices.
"Wheat prices are bottoming out. Matif (Euronext) is recovering with the demand that's absorbing Baltic Sea supply," a futures trader said.
Eastern EU origins like Polish, Baltic States and Romanian wheat were seen as well placed to pick up sales in the Saudi tender, though Russian wheat sold via Baltic ports and Western European supplies were also seen in contention, traders said.
“I expect the east and west EU to be mainly offered for the November arrival position and Russian mainly for December arrival in the hope any Black Sea safe shipping deal could reopen Russian ship-borne exports,” a German trader said.
“If there is no Black Sea shipping deal, Russian wheat could then be shipped to Saudi from Baltic ports.”
Persisting concerns about war disruption to Black Sea wheat supply underpinned prices, with no apparent progress in diplomatic efforts to achieve a truce on shipping attacks.
Consultancy Sovecon said on Wednesday it had cut its Russian wheat export forecast for this season by 4.7 million tons to 36.7 million tons, as it saw normal port operations in the Azov-Black Sea region resuming no earlier than 2027.
Chicago wheat Wv1 was little changed, with its rebound from a seven-week low curbed by the dollar's strength and weakness in corn prices after a bigger-than-expected estimate of US corn stocks. GRA/
($1 = 0.8914 euros)
(Reuters)