PARIS, March 3 (Reuters) - European wheat prices were
little changed on Friday but recorded a weekly loss of nearly
2%, pressured by competition from cheap Russian wheat offers
while uncertainty about the fate of the Black Sea grain export
deal fuelled market volatility.
Benchmark May milling wheat on Paris-based Euronext
settled at 275.25 euros a tonne, up 0.25 euro from the previous
day but down 1.7% on the week after marking a new one-year low
on Wednesday.
"There are many elements moving the market, including funds
and technical factors but the key one, what can really move
markets, is whether the deal is renewed," a French trader said.
Uncertainty over whether the Black Sea Initiative that
facilitates Ukrainian grain exports will be renewed later this
month has replaced optimism amid strong comments from Russia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday accused
the West of "shamelessly burying" the initiative that
facilitates the export of Ukraine's agricultural products from
its southern ports.
"The market is still torn between the bullish factor of
uncertainty about the extension of Ukraine’s safe shipping
corridor and the bearish factor of cheap Russian and Ukrainian
wheat offered in international markets,” one German trader said.
"I think markets could react sharply to any positive or
negative news in coming days as we are only a couple of weeks
away from the expiry of the shipping agreement and everyone is
urgently waiting for any details.”
Standard 12% protein wheat for March delivery in Hamburg was
offered for sale at a premium of about 7 euros over the Euronext
May contract with little purchase interest seen.
The generally mild weather in Germany means grain crops
remain in overall good condition with frost damage hardly seen
this winter.
In France, the condition of soft wheat in the week to Feb.
27 was unchanged from the previous week with 95% of crops rated
in good or excellent condition, farm office FranceAgriMer said
on Friday.
(Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris and Michael Hogan
in Hamburg; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
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