October 1, 2009
EU wheat down; struggles to compete on export market
European wheat futures traded lower Wednesday (September 30) as European countries struggle to compete for export business on the world market.
"European wheat markets are stagnant, there's very little outright business," said a London-based broker. "Fundamentally, Europe's too dear" compared with other origins.
November Paris milling wheat futures traded flat at EUR122.50 (US$179.37) a tonne, with 6,558 lots moved. London November feed wheat traded down GBP0.50, or 0.5 percent, at GBP97.50/tonne, with 236 lots traded.
Currency remained one of the strongest influences on European wheat prices as the dollar weakened against the euro and sterling throughout the session, boosting the US's competitiveness on the export market.
"The market, aside from currency, was featureless with export and domestic demand hard to find," said UK farmer-owned cooperative Openfield.
The US Department of Agriculture's latest stocks data was bearish for wheat, with stocks higher than expected.
"Wheat stocks were significantly above expectations and highlight uninspiring demand trends and a still bearish price outlook," said JPMorgan in a commodities note.
Standard-quality wheat prices in the French cash market delivered at Rouen were unchanged from Tuesday's prices at EUR117/tonne.
Paris-based November rapeseed traded up EUR3.00, or 1.2 percent, at EUR259.00/tonne, with 3,257 lots moved. Liffe's Paris November corn traded down EUR2.00, or 1.6 percent, at EUR120.00/tonne, with 393 lots moved.
US$1 = EUR0.68 (Oct 1)
