Wheat futures in Europe hold steady

European wheat futures traded near unchanged in steady markets on Friday with little impetus to take direction.

Market direction will depend on weather conditions during the next two months but for now the outlook for crop development is good, said a France-based broker.

Paris March wheat futures trade down 0.2%, at EUR131.25 (US$188.173) a metric ton, with 3,556 lots moved. London May feed wheat traded flat at GBP109.25/ton (US$176.585), with 113 lots moved.

In Eastern Europe, there had been some concerns about low temperatures and a lack of snow coverage to protect crops but they have now had some snow, said the France-based broker.

"We'll have to wait until February or March to see if there's any winter kill," the broker added.

The annual index rebalancing taking place early January is expected to favour grains, particularly in the Dow Jones UBS commodity index where significant additional allocations in corn and wheat are expected, according to Standard Chartered bank.

While grains have not been the strongest performers in the commodities complex in 2009, some believe the commodities boom remains intact.