EU wheat steadies as Greenland jitters ease

PARIS, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Euronext wheat futures steadied on Wednesday after dropping a day earlier, supported by an easing in the euro as comments by U.S. President Donald Trump tempered investor jitters over his push to acquire Greenland. Euronext was capped by weakness in Chicago and a backdrop of stiff export competition. March milling wheat (BL2H6) , the most active position on Euronext’s Paris-based futures, settled unchanged on the day at 189.50 euros ($221.72) a metric ton. Chicago wheat (Wv1) edged lower, pressured by the dollar’s bounce and rain expected in dry parts of the U.S. Plains. (GRA/) The euro (EUR=) , which had climbed against a broadly weaker dollar on Tuesday after Trump threatened European allies with tariffs if they oppose his plans for Greenland, fell back after Trump said he would not use force to pursue his goal. (FRX/) “The weaker euro is a positive factor today but I do not think export optimism is currently very strong for west EU wheat,” a German trader said. Argentine wheat was expected to supply a purchase by Algeria on Monday, while Black Sea origins were expected to supply a purchase by Saudi Arabia of higher protein 12.5% wheat. German 12% protein wheat traded on Tuesday at a premium of 10 euros over the Euronext March contract (BL2H6) delivered Hamburg or about $242 a ton free on board (fob), the trader said. This compared with Russian prices of around $228-$230 a ton FOB and Romanian prices around $234-$236. Relatively modest German wheat export shipments so far in January were concentrated on Africa with about 100,000 tons in two shipments for South Africa, 30,000 tons to Cameroon and 30,000 tons to Libya, traders said. Traders noted Italian purchase interest for Ukrainian feed wheat at around $250 a ton cost and freight included (c&f) for March/April shipment to Italy’s east coast. In maize, Euronext March futures (EMAH6) edged up 0.1% to 192.75 euros, holding near Monday’s four-month high and maintaining their premium over wheat. Disruptions to Ukrainian exports due to intense Russian attacks have supported European maize prices, though maize shipments have accelerated since last month, data from Ukraine’s grain traders union showed. Financial investors reduced their net short position in Euronext wheat last week, data published by the exchange showed. ($1 = 0.8547 euros)