EU wheat prices ease with Chicago as hefty supply weighs

PARIS, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Euronext wheat eased on Tuesday as Chicago futures retreated from a near three-month peak while stiff competition for tepid international demand also curbed the market, traders said.

May milling wheat BL2K6, the most active position on Euronext, settled 0.5% down at 190.25 euros ($225.20) a metric ton, falling for a third straight session.

Chicago wheat Wv1 lost about 2% as the U.S. market reopened after a U.S. holiday closure on Monday. GRA/

Favourable weather expected in the U.S. Plains, increased projections for Russia's 2026 crop and news that India will allow wheat exports all weighed on sentiment, traders said.

Euronext found some support in a weaker euro EUR= and firm prices in Russia, where winter weather has hampered exports.

However, export sentiment remained downbeat in western Europe.

“Despite the usual winter weather disruption to Russian logistics, Russia has still exported big volumes of wheat so far in February,” one German trader said.

“It looks like there are still big unsold stocks in Russia, Ukraine and Argentina waiting to be sold in competition with western Europe.”

Lunar New Year holidays in parts of Asia, together with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan that starts later this week, were also raising expectations of a lull in demand.

Traders were also assessing the impact of torrential rain in Morocco, the European Union's biggest wheat export market.

Estimates by Moroccan grain industry representatives that this year's local cereal crop could double in size, with limited expected flood impact, also dented EU export prospects.

At the same time, traders were assessing disruption to Moroccan imports from the heavy rain, with local buyers seeking a one-month extension to the country's import window to clear port congestion. The window is due to close on April 30.

In France, traders were monitoring flooding in some western areas to see if that could alter what have been very favourable early crop conditions.

EU data showed that the bloc has exported 15.11 million tons of soft wheat so far this season, up 11% from a year earlier, though figures for some countries remained incomplete.

($1 = 0.8448 euros)