EU wheat hovers near lows with Ukraine and crop conditions in focus

PARIS, June 3 (Reuters) - European wheat futures ended down slightly on Tuesday to remain near contract lows as traders assessed further Ukrainian strikes on Russian targets, as well as improved U.S. crop ratings that underscored favourable global supply prospects.

September milling wheat BL2U5, the most active position on Paris-based Euronext, settled 0.2% down at 202.00 euros a metric ton to hold near last Thursday's contract low of 200.25 euros.

In a choppy session, Euronext and Chicago wheat Wv1 both saw early weakness after the overnight publication of better-than-expected scores for U.S. wheat conditions. Prices later turned higher as news that Ukraine had hit the road and rail bridge linking Russia and the Crimean peninsula revived fears of escalation in the war between the two grain-exporting countries that had spurred a rally on Monday. GRA/

Euronext still lacked impetus with slow export demand and expectations of ample global supply in the upcoming season weighing on sentiment.

"It's hard to see many bullish factors," a futures dealer said. "There's a big discount on new-crop prices in the Black Sea, so there's no reason for buyers to come in now. I think the old-crop export demand is pretty much over."

Hopes of a run of French exports at the end of the current season that closes on June 30 have been cooled by delays to the expected shipment of around 180,000 tons of French wheat to Egypt, according to sources.

Weekly European Union data showed that soft wheat exports from the bloc in 2024/25 had reached 19.13 million tons, down 34% from a year ago though with figures for some EU countries incomplete.