Reuters
by Valerie Parent
Paris wheat futures edged higher on Tuesday as a rebound in Chicago and signs of some fresh export demand offset a stronger euro and a bearish supply context.
December milling wheat, the benchmark on the Paris-based Euronext market, settled 0.25 euro or 0.1 percent higher at 180.00 euros a tonne, as the contract continued to consolidate in a narrow range between 178 and 181 euros.
Chicago wheat snapped a four-session losing streak, supported by a weaker dollar and a sharp rise in soybeans.
A tender purchase by Algeria last week and news Morocco will reduce import duties next month raised the prospect of new French export sales, but traders put this in the context of a record-large French crop and stiff export competition.
Morocco, a major destination for French wheat, is cutting its customs duty on soft wheat imports to 50 percent from 75 percent on Nov. 1, the government said on Monday.
Moroccan importers have already booked some shipments in anticipation of the duty cut but traders said some of the volume would be of Black Sea origin and that the partial tariff reduction would not trigger a rush of shipments.
“Morocco is not going to create the export impetus the market needs,” one French trader said.
A large purchase by Algeria, which last week bought at least 675,000 tonnes of wheat, lent support to the cash market in France as traders saw some of the deal being sourced in France.
The prospect of Algerian sales plus a continued lack of offers from sellers helped premiums at French grain ports to strengthen 1-2 euros from Monday, brokers said, although they remained below Euronext levels.
France’s farm ministry on Monday raised its estimate of this year’s soft wheat crop to a new record of 41 million tonnes. (Reporting by Valerie Parent, writing by Gus Trompiz, editing by William Hardy)
