EU wheat edges up as importer demand supports

PARIS, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Euronext wheat ticked up on Thursday with support from import demand and an easing euro, traders said.

Investor doubts over whether the latest U.S.-Iran negotiations will avert a military conflict also helped to underpin crude oil and other commodity markets. O/R

May milling wheat BL2K6, the most active position on Paris-based Euronext, settled 0.6% up at 197.75 euros ($232.95) a metric ton to remain near the three-month high of 199.50 euros touched twice in the past week.

Saudi Arabia announced a tender to purchase 655,000 tons of wheat. That followed an Algerian tender on Tuesday, in which the importer was thought to have booked several hundred thousand tons, traders said. GRA/TEND

"For wheat you've got the Saudi tender and the idea Algeria is going to have to come back into the market," one futures dealer said.

Talk that Algeria failed to book additional volume in a second day of talks on Wednesday has raised expectations that it might issue another tender soon.

Results in the Saudi tender are expected on Monday and, as with Algeria's tender, western European grain is seen as standing little chance against Black Sea origins.

“Sadly it seems west EU wheat will have little chance of being supplied in either tender,” a German trader said.

“But the two tenders from Saudi Arabia and Algeria look like removing around 1.2 million tons from an oversupplied wheat market.”

The May to July shipment periods sought by Saudi Arabia could also allow some early-harvested 2026 crop from the Black Sea zone, the trader added.

Other demand reported by traders included an Egyptian buyer seeking about 30,000 to 40,000 tons of Black Sea 12.5% protein wheat for March shipment at $248-$249 a ton cost and freight (c&f).

Italian buyers were seeking 6,000 tons of Ukrainian 11.5% protein wheat at about $260 a ton c&f for spot shipment and 6,000 tons at around $252 a ton c&f for June shipment.

The euro EUR= fell against the dollar, making western European grain slightly cheaper for overseas buyers. FRX/

Chicago wheat Wv1 also steadied after falling back from an eight-month peak at the start of the week. GRA/

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

($1 = 0.8489 euros)