EU wheat rebounds as euro eases, Chicago rallies

PARIS, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Euronext wheat rose on Wednesday to recover from a five-week low as the euro's surge against the dollar abated, while Chicago wheat rose sharply in U.S. trading.

March milling wheat BL2H6 on Euronext settled 1.5% up at 190 euros ($226.78) a metric ton, after hitting its lowest since December 22 at 187.00 euros in the previous session.

Chicago wheat Wv1 was up 2.6% at $5.37 a bushel by 1810 GMT.

After being pressured on Tuesday by the euro's EUR= strongest level since 2021 versus the dollar, Euronext found relief as the euro fell on Wednesday amid a broad rebound in the dollar.

A stronger euro makes western European grain more expensive for export, and the currency trend comes as the EU faces competition from Argentina in Morocco, its main export market.

The drop in prices under 190 euros a ton deterred farmers in west EU countries, one German trader said.

"Farmers are holding out for high cash market premiums, which in turn makes German and other west EU wheat too expensive in export markets," he said.

"But in turn, Euronext at around 188 euros could help generate more competitive export prices."

Maize futures were trading above wheat, in a sign of strong demand for French maize inside the EU, especially in the big Spanish and south European markets, in the absence of Ukrainian corn and the usual winter transport disruption, another trader said.

"EU importers are looking more relaxed about buying U.S. corn after the possibility of EU tariffs on U.S. corn imports over the Greenland dispute has cooled down," the trader said. "The weaker dollar could also generate more U.S. corn sales to Spain.