EU wheat eases after nearing 200-euro mark again

PARIS, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Benchmark wheat prices on Euronext ended slightly lower on Tuesday after again approaching the psychological threshold of 200 euros, as the market reacted to an easing in Chicago futures and talk of an import purchase by Algeria.

May milling wheat BL2K6, the most active position on the Paris-based Euronext exchange, settled 0.3% lower at 197.25 euros ($232.40) a metric ton. The contract earlier matched Friday's three-month peak of 199.50 euros but again failed to reach the 200-euro mark.

Chicago wheat Wv1 edged back from an eight-month high, curbed by a firmer dollar and uncertainty caused by upheaval in U.S. trade policy since the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on Friday that struck down some of President Donald Trump's import tariffs. GRA/

Wheat markets had rallied in the past week as adverse weather and investor worries over U.S.-Iran tensions sparked short-covering.

Algeria bought wheat in a tender on Tuesday, with negotiations expected to continue on Wednesday, according to traders. The volume booked so far is unclear but thought to involve several hundred thousand tons, they added.

The large possible volume lent some support to Euronext, though prices also suggested availability of competitively priced Black Sea supplies for the end of the season.

"Algeria's wheat purchase tender today seeks April/May shipment and is a good indicator of old-crop export prices before the importer focus shifts to this summer's new crop," one German trader said.

"I would expect Ukrainian, Romanian, Bulgarian and possibly Russian (wheat) to be used to supply the Algerian tender," the trader added.

French wheat still was tacitly excluded from Algeria's tenders due to diplomatic tensions, according to traders.

Firm prices in Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter, also lent background support to the European market.

Drier weather in France after torrential rain last week has tempered concerns about crop conditions. But deferred positions on Euronext for the 2026 harvest held steady, with traders citing a lack of farmer selling due to uncertainty over rain damage.

European Union soft wheat exports so far in 2025/26 have reached 15.4 million tons, up 10% from a year ago, EU data showed, though figures for some countries including France remain incomplete.

($1 = 0.8488 euros)