EU wheat tracks Chicago rally with weather and exports in focus

PARIS, July 18 (Reuters) - Euronext wheat rose on Friday, tracking a sharp rebound in Chicago while traders assessed the ongoing harvest in Europe and early-season export prospects.

September wheat BL2U5, the most-active position on Euronext, was up 1.0% at 201.50 euros ($234.71) a metric ton by 1458 GMT.

It earlier reached its highest since June 23 at 203.00 euros as it moved away from a contract low of 192.75 euros struck in early July.

Chicago wheat Wv1 climbed more than 2% in U.S. trading, supported by a weaker dollar. GRA/

Rain this week slowed wheat harvesting in France and Germany after a quick start. Good yields are still anticipated, though there was caution over quality, with more showers in the coming days raising the risk of quality loss.

"It's interrupting the wheat harvest but it's beneficial for maize," a French trader said of the rain. "For the remaining wheat, it's going to reduce test weights."

Test weights are among measures of wheat's milling quality. There have already been reports of low protein levels in some harvested crop.

French farmers had harvested 71% of the soft wheat crop by Monday, with field work still well ahead of the usual pace, while maize conditions deteriorated further following recent hot, dry weather, data from farm office FranceAgriMer showed.

In Germany, harvesting had been halted by rain this week.

“Rain this week is an annoyance but would only present a danger if it continues for a long period. Wheat still has time to dry out and recover,” one German trader said.

Germany's 2025 wheat crop will increase 16.5% on the year to 21.56 million metric tons, the country's association of farm cooperatives said as it raised slightly its estimate to reflect less damage than feared from a June heatwave.

Traders remained downbeat about export prospects for French and German wheat given limited demand and competition from cheaper Black Sea grain, with early-season supply tensions in Russia expected to be short-lived.

“The Black Sea is still the cheapest despite price firmness after a slow start to the Russian harvest,” the trader said.

Traders continued to monitor low arrivals of Russian new crop wheat in ports, with slow farmer selling continuing to hinder export business, especially for high-protein wheat.

Russian 12.5% protein wheat was holding over the $230 level, with a wide range reported between $231-$237 a ton FOB for August loading, with some sellers seeking $240.

($1 = 0.8585 euros)