EU wheat eases on weakness in Chicago, lingering export concerns

PARIS, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Euronext wheat edged lower on Wednesday, pressured by weakness in Chicago prices and worries over slow export demand in Western Europe, traders said.

May futures BL2K5, the most-active contract on Euronext's milling wheat market, were down 0.8% by 1544 GMT at 238.25 euros ($248.52) a metric ton.

Front-month March wheat BL2H5 was down 0.3% at 229.00 euros a ton after touching a three-week low at 227.75 euros.

Chicago wheat Wv1 eased in U.S. trading, curbed by a firmer dollar and expectations that snow cover may limit damage to wheat crops from a cold spell. GRA/

In Europe, traders said support from a weaker euro EUR= and ebbing supply in Russia were countered by sluggish exports.

"Russia is not the only competitor to the west EU and the other Black Sea exporters like Romania and Bulgaria are looking very cheap," one German trader said.

"If there is a peace agreement in Ukraine, this could also greatly increase Russian and Ukrainian export volumes, so the overall export outlook is still pretty bleak for the west EU."

After low European Union exports so far this season, demand prospects were seen as limited after a large purchase by Saudi Arabia on Monday was expected to be supplied from outside Western Europe.

In France, export sales outside the EU were still slow, with French wheat facing stiff competition from other European origins to sell to Morocco, traders said.

"We've got hefty stocks and there's no easy way to get around that," a French trader said. "At the moment we're only really seeing intra-EU trade for French wheat."

Fears about cold weather hurting Russian crops, which were in relatively poor shape before winter, were also subsiding.

"Market talk is that any Russian damage is not too bad and about normal as Russian crops hardly ever get through the winter without some frost damage," the German trader said.

($1 = 0.9587 euros)