EU wheat eases in U.S. holiday lull

PARIS, July 4 (Reuters) - European wheat futures edged lower on Friday to ease from a one-week high, with a U.S. holiday depriving the market of usual impetus and favourable harvest prospects and slow exports curbing prices.

September wheat BL2U5 on Euronext was 0.8% down at 195.75 euros ($230.60) per metric ton by 1618 GMT.

The front-month position was almost unchanged over the week, having fallen to a contract low of 192.75 euros on Tuesday before rebounding to a one-week at 199.25 euros on Thursday as investors adjusted short positions.

A slight rise in the euro EUR=, which remained near a 3-1/2 year high against the dollar struck earlier this week, also capped Euronext prices.

"The market still faces a bearish combination of good crop prospects in the west EU and Black Sea," one German trader said.

"Cheap Russian and other Black Sea prices are likely to win export business in the near future. But demand is anyway thin, with importers delaying purchases, expecting prices to fall further if harvest pressure mounts."

New-crop Russian 11.5% protein wheat was quoted on Friday below $220 at around $217-$219 a ton FOB, 12.5% at $224-$226.

Ukrainian new crop feed was on Friday quoted as low as 185-195 euros a ton including delivery to north Germany/the Netherlands, he said.

There was little reaction to news that the European Commission will offer Ukraine an annual import quota of 1.3 million tons of wheat under a revised trade agreement.

The quota, which will cut inflows of Ukrainian wheat compared with the 4-6 million tons imported annually under quota-free access since the start of Russia's invasion, was seen reshuffling trade but with limited price effects.

"It will affect intra-EU trade, with importers in Europe buying more from France or Germany instead of Ukraine," a French trader said. "But it won't change much globally as Ukraine will sell more to non-EU countries as long as it has access to the Black Sea."

The EU has also proposed a barley quota of 450,000 tons, in line with the volume imported from Ukraine in the past year, and a maize quota of 1 million tons, though the latter was seen as irrelevant given that the EU has a general zero tariff on maize.

Traders and analysts remained optimistic about Europe's wheat harvest that was underway, with a heatwave in recent days seen posing few risks to crops.

French farmers had harvested 11% of the soft wheat crop by June 30, up from 1% a week earlier and surpassing a five-year average of 4% for the same week, farm office FranceAgriMer said.

($1 = 0.8489 euros)