Euronext wheat prices extended losses on Tuesday to the lowest level since mid-July as market rumours of talks to halt attacks on vessels in the Black Sea eased concerns about a squeeze on Russian and Ukrainian exports.
Sluggish demand for Western European wheat, technical selling in front-month futures and caution before widely followed U.S. Department of Agriculture crop forecasts on Wednesday also weighed on Euronext, traders said.
December wheat, the most active position on Euronext, settled 1.2% down at €227.50 ($262.54) a metric ton after touching its lowest since July 15.
September futures again led losses, with the contract settling 2.1% down at €213.25 a ton after hitting its weakest since July 10. The slide partly reflected participants exiting positions in the front month and a lack of short-term export demand, traders said.
The unconfirmed chatter about discussions to halt vessel attacks in the Black Sea followed a weekend call by Turkey for Moscow and Kyiv to declare a moratorium on such strikes.
“Rumours abounded today that Russia and Ukraine are talking about some form of safe shipping agreement that could enable full-scale sea wheat exports from both countries,” one German trader said.
“But there have been so many rumours over the past few weeks and the market is hoping for actual signs of such an agreement.”
Ukraine, meanwhile, cut its grain export forecast for the 2026/27 July-June season by up to 12%, its agriculture minister told Reuters on Monday.
For Russia, the world's biggest wheat exporter, IKAR trimmed its 2026/27 wheat exports forecast by 0.5 million tons to 44.5 million tons while fellow Sovecon projected August wheat shipments at a 10-year low of 3.0 million to 3.4 million tons.
In another sign of tepid demand, Jordan cancelled another wheat purchase tender on Tuesday.
Weekly European Union data showed the bloc's soft wheat exports so far in the 2026/27 season that started on July 1 had reached 1 million tons, down 57% from a year earlier.
But figures for several countries remained incomplete and traders noted a negligible volume of 157 tons for France. Port data compiled by LSEG showed France shipped about 400,000 tons outside the EU in July.
In Germany, the current heatwave pushed the river Rhine to record low levels, stopping some cargo shipping.
($1 = 0.8666 euros)
(Reuters)
