Paris wheat down on Ukraine ceasefire talks, tariff fears

HAMBURG/PARIS, March 24 (Reuters) - Euronext wheat fell on Monday to its lowest in nearly two weeks as U.S.-Russian talks aimed at a Black Sea maritime ceasefire in Ukraine raised expectations of increased grain shipments, while fears of trade disruption from U.S. tariff disputes also weighed.

Front-month May milling wheat BL2K5 on the Paris-based Euronext closed down 1.8% at 222 euros ($239.49), after reaching its lowest since March 12 at 221.75 euros.

"The market is feeling some pressure from this," a futures dealer said of the negotiations over a Black Sea ceasefire.

"There had still been a war premium persisting in wheat prices."

A deal on Black Sea shipping was bearish as more Ukrainian and Russian wheat could be exported, traders said.

“President Trump looks set to announce new tariffs on many countries next week but the details are still unclear and we still do not know if the EU will be involved,” one German trader said. “Any EU retaliation could create storms in the grains markets.”

But some late support came from news Morocco, a major buyer of EU wheat, will extend its current subsidy programme for soft wheat imports until December, indicating the drought-affected country will need to import throughout the year

In Poland, prices rose in the last week after recent Euronext firmness but with weak demand limiting increases.

Polish 12.5% protein wheat for March/April port delivery rose about 10 zloty on the week to around 950 zloty (227.8 euros) a ton.

“Polish millers are not in hurry to buy, as there seems to be large unsold stocks on farms,” a Polish trader said. “I estimate Poland’s wheat exports are around 40% behind last year because of heavy competition from cheap Black Sea supplies."

Traders reported only one vessel sailing from Poland last week with 30,000 tons for Angola.