EU wheat steady as exports and crops assessed
European wheat futures ticked higher on Thursday in step with Chicago as an upturn in international demand helped counter pressure from swelling global supply.
A fall in the euro 
EURUSD against the dollar also helped Euronext hold above contract lows from earlier this week.
December wheat (BL2Z5) on Euronext's Paris-based futures market settled 0.1% up at 190.75 euros ($222.62) per metric ton.
The most-active contract on Euronext was recovering from a contract low of 187.75 euros struck on Tuesday.
Demand from importers like Algeria, which traders said booked around 600,000-700,000 tons of wheat in a tender on Tuesday, and weekly U.S. export sales towards the high end of market expectations suggested buyers were taking advantage of low prices.
However, latest crop forecasts underscored plentiful supply in exporting countries.
The European Commission on Thursday increased its forecast for European Union soft wheat production in 2025/26 to a 10-year high of 132.6 million metric tons.
Consultancy IKAR has raised its 2025 Russian wheat crop forecast to 87.5 million metric tons from 87 million previously, it said on Thursday.
Traders were also assessing the impact of a brief suspension earlier this week of Argentina's grain export taxes in a move to boost dollar-generating overseas sales.
The country reintroduced the taxes on Wednesday after a sales cap of $7 billion was reached.
"With global supply swelling and Argentine exports reshaping flows, grain markets face continued downside risk absent fresh demand drivers," British merchant ADM Agriculture said in a note. "Technical rebounds may provide relief, but sustained rallies look capped."
In France, a vessel is due to arrive at the northern port of Dunkirk on Sunday to load about 60,000 metric tons of wheat for Egypt, LSEG data showed, confirming part of a purchase made by Egypt's state grains buyer last month. (GRAIN/SHP/FR)
The data showed another ship was due in Dunkirk in the coming days to load 60,000 tons for a non-specified destination, which traders said was believed to be Thailand.
($1 = 0.8568 euros)
