EU wheat hovers near one-month peak ahead of USDA data

PARIS, Feb 11 (Reuters) - European wheat futures consolidated near a one-month high on Tuesday as traders awaited fresh direction from a U.S. government crop report later in the day and an Algerian import tender on Wednesday.

March wheat BL2H5 on Paris-based Euronext was down 0.2% at 236.25 euros ($244.45) a metric ton by 1621 GMT.

The front-month contract earlier rose to 238.75 euros, its highest since January 3 and above a previous one-month peak on Monday, though a bounce in the euro EUR= against the dollar helped to cap gains.

Grain markets are awaiting the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) February world supply and demand report.

Euronext has been supported this month by rising prices and ebbing supply in Russia.

Easing competition from Russia has boosted the chances for European Union origins in Algeria's tender on Wednesday.

"It is positive to see a new tender from Algeria, one of the big league buyers,” one German trader said.

“Russia’s export quotas and rising Russian prices may mean an Algerian purchase will not be automatically sourced from Russia. But other Black Sea suppliers like Romania and Bulgaria are still looking very cheap and will provide tough competition to west EU and Baltic exporters.”

EU common wheat exports so far in 2024/25 have reached 13 million tons, down 36% from a year ago, official data showed on Tuesday.

French shipments remained curbed by last year's poor harvest and a dearth of sales to Algeria against a backdrop of diplomatic tensions.

France was nonetheless seeing a pickup in loadings of feed wheat after a run of feed barley shipments, LSEG data showed. GRAIN/SHP/FR

For this year's harvest, the French farm ministry increased its estimate of winter soft wheat sowing but warned that soggy conditions could lead to resowing or affect yield potential.

In Poland, prices dipped in the past week, with exports still slack in the face of Black Sea competition.

Polish 12.5% protein wheat dropped about 5 zlotys on the week to about 985 zlotys a ton (235.7 euros) for February/March delivery to port silos.

“Only one large ship is currently set to load wheat in Poland; a 33,000 ton consignment in Gdynia for an unknown destination, which is depressingly small activity,” one Polish trader said.

“Farmers (are) still sitting on the sidelines waiting for higher prices.”

($1 = 0.9665 euros)