Paris Wheat Rises As Algerian Purchases Tender, Hope of Black Sea Peace Fades

European wheat futures in Paris rose on Monday, recovering from a sharp fall on Friday, as big importer Algeria issued a wheat purchase tender and hopes for a Black Sea peace deal faded.

Export-boosting euro weakness also supported.

Benchmark December milling wheat on the Paris-based Euronext exchange rose 0.3% to €242.75 ($271.15) a metric ton at 1534 GMT.

Algeria's state grains agency OAIC issued an international tender to buy milling wheat closing on Tuesday. The tender as usual indicated a nominal 50,000 metric tons, but Algeria, one of the world's largest wheat importers, often buys considerably more in its tenders.

"You've got the OAIC tender, the euro-dollar rate and Russia-Ukraine attacks continuing," a futures broker said.

Traders hoped the Algerian tender could remove several hundred thousand tons of supplies from the wheat market. The country bought about 500,000 tons in its last tender on September 15, but the impact was blunted as it was believed French wheat would again be excluded from the tender because of political tension between France and Algeria.

Price support also came from fading hopes of progress towards any Black Sea peace deal that would allow Russia and Ukraine to resume ship-borne exports.

US President Donald Trump announced a Ukrainian-Russian energy ceasefire on Sunday, initially sparking hopes for progress in resuming shipborne Black Sea wheat exports from Russia and Ukraine, which stalled after recent attacks.

But Russia hit at least six energy targets during a night and morning of airstrikes across Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday, adding this showed Moscow had no interest in any energy ceasefire.

“The Trump energy ceasefire announcement did generate some hope of some progress towards Black Sea peace negotiations but reaction from both sides was tepid and hopes have faded," a German trader added.

(Reuters)