EU wheat slips to contract lows as bumper Argentine crop weighs
PARIS, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Euronext wheat fell on Friday to contract lows as another increased forecast for Argentina's harvest underscored tough export competition.
March wheat BL2H6, the most active contract on Paris-based Euronext, settled down 1.3% at 188.00 euros ($218.04) a metric ton.
It earlier broke below a previous contract low of 189.75 euros that had been acting as a chart support level this week, falling as low as 187.50 euros.
Chicago wheat Wv1 edged down as the U.S. market resumed trading after the Thanksgiving holiday. Chicago grains were not among markets affected by an earlier outage affecting exchange operator CME Group. GRA/
Argentina's 2025/26 wheat harvest is expected to reach a record 25.5 million tons, up from a previous estimate of 24 million tons, the Buenos Aires grains exchange said on Thursday.
Rising estimates of Argentina's crop have kept the market's focus on export competition, with west European wheat already vying with traditional Black Sea rivals like Russia.
"Russian wheat is the cheapest in our region and Argentine about the cheapest in the world, with both prices falling this week," one German trader said. "Euronext needs to fall to keep EU wheat competitive in export markets."
Russian 11.5% protein wheat for December/January shipment was around $224-$226 a ton free on board (FOB). French, Romanian and Ukrainian wheat were in a similar range just above Russian at $227-$229 a ton FOB.
Argentine 11.5% protein wheat was holding its world price lead at about $206-$209 a ton FOB.
Favourable early prospects for next year's harvest in Europe were adding to supply pressure. In France, nearly all soft wheat remained in good condition despite widespread frosts last week, data from farm office FranceAgriMer showed.
Barley prices in western Europe continued to rise as Tunisia’s purchase of 75,000 tons in a tender on Thursday was set to add more demand at a time of tight supply.
"The barley market is on fire," a French trader said.
Traders said export premiums for feed barley in France doubled this week to around 10 euros, as they continued to be above those of wheat.
In FOB terms, French FOB barley prices had reached 200-204 euros a ton, or $234-$239. German prices were also firm at around 192-195 euros.
($1 = 0.8622 euros)
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