EU wheat extends rebound on Black Sea war concerns

PARIS, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Euronext wheat rose for a third session on Monday to extend a rebound from contract lows as attacks by Ukraine and Russia on each other's Black Sea coastlines sparked some short-covering, traders said.

March wheat BL2H6, the most active contract on Paris-based Euronext, was up 0.7% at 188.00 euros ($220.92) a metric ton by 1647 GMT, moving away from last Wednesday's contract low at 185.00 euros.

Russian forces hit port and energy infrastructure in Ukraine's Odesa region, sparking a fire that burned containers of flour and vegetable oil at the port of Pivdennyi, a senior Ukrainian official said.

A Ukrainian drone attack, meanwhile, damaged two vessels on the Black Sea coast in Russia's Krasnodar region, regional authorities said.

The attacks took attention away from a U.S. diplomatic push to end the conflict and encouraged some participants to cover short positions before the year-end holidays.

The incidents came after Russia increased attacks on the Odesa region in recent weeks, disrupting Ukraine's grain export logistics.

Chicago wheat Wv1 also rose on Monday to recover from contract lows last week. GRA/

Volumes on Euronext were relatively light, with many market participants away from their desks in the run-up to Christmas and New Year.

A bounce in the euro EUR= against the dollar curbed gains on Euronext by making western European grain more expensive overseas. FRX/

The recent slide in Euronext prices had made French wheat competitive against Black Sea origins like Russian wheat, helping sustain steady French shipments to core export destinations like Morocco and West Africa.

But ample global supply, bolstered by big wheat harvests being gathered in Argentina and Australia, continued to hang over the market.

($1 = 0.8510 euros)