Arab News | European wheat firms after US visit offers little hope on Ukraine

PARIS/HAMBURG: European wheat rose ‌on Monday, supported by scant signs of progress from a US diplomatic push to end the Ukrainian war, which has disturbed shipments out of the Black Sea region, and by strong demand for European Union origins.

Benchmark December milling wheat on Paris-based Euronext closed the day session 1.2% higher at €249.25 ($289.78) a metric ton.

That was still well off the contract high of €256.75 a ton hit last week. Chicago markets were closed for Labor Day.

US peace envoys ‌Jared Kushner ‌and Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir ‌Putin in Moscow and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv over the weekend, but their diplomatic efforts did not appear to secure a breakthrough in ending the war.

“The visit by the US envoys to Russia does not seem to have resulted in a peace breakthrough which could enable Ukrainian and Russian seaborne grain exports to resume,” one German ‌trader said.

Tit-for-tat attacks by ‌Russia and Ukraine on each other’s ports and shipping have ‌brought the countries’ Black Sea exports to a near ‌halt, prompting buyers were having to look for alternatives.

“The west EU, including France, has won new sales to Egypt, Sudan and west Africa to replace Black Sea shipments, and this is ‌supporting prices,” a trader said.

But traders also noted the cancellation of a large tender from Saudi Arabia for 535,000 tons of wheat because of high prices.

“Some importers both in the Middle East and Asia are still delaying purchases in the hope that some form of Black Sea shipping deal will enable Russian and Ukrainian sea shipments to resume, which would pretty certainly push wheat prices down sharply,” a trader said.