Wheat: Black Sea prices mixed despite strong demand

Wheat: Black Sea prices mixed despite strong demand

London, 10 May (Argus) — Russia's wheat prices shrugged off support from fresh demand, in contrast to higher offers heard for European product.

Russia's spot 12.5pc protein content wheat contract closed at $390/t fob Novorossiysk on Tuesday, unchanged from the previous trading session. The country was still on public holiday on Tuesday which limited trading liquidity, market participants said.

On the European side, offers for spot 11.5pc wheat contracts on a fob Constanta/Varna/Burgas basis were heard at some $420/t on Tuesday, compared with $410/t last week, while offers for the corresponding 12.5pc wheat contract were heard around $430/t. Gains were driven by Algeria's announcement of a new milling wheat tender for 50,000t of product for shipment in June-July, closing on 11 May. The tender comes after weak trading interest in old-crop product last week and despite muted market activity ahead of the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (Wasde) report, which is scheduled to be released on Thursday.

On the new-crop side, 11.5pc wheat on a CVB basis was heard offered at €4/t premium over the Euronext milling wheat September futures contract for shipment in August, in line with premium levels heard last Friday.

Meanwhile, French grain exports to