EU wheat edges down as USDA data curbs rally on Black Sea risks
Updates with closing fall after USDA data
PARIS, Sept 12 (Reuters) -Euronext wheat ended slightly loweron Thursday as an unexpected increase to a closely watched forecast of the U.S. corn crop encouraged wheat prices to consolidate after a rally linked to Black Sea supply concerns, traders said.
December wheat BL2Z4, the most active position on Paris-based Euronext, settled 0.1% down at 222.75 euros ($246.21) a metric ton.
The contract earlier reached 226.50 euros, its highest since Aug. 9, before turning lower after the U.S. Department of Agriculture'smonthly crop report released near the end of the Euronext session.
The USDA countered market expectations by increasing its projection of this year's U.S. corn yield, while also increasing its forecast of global wheat stocks this season. WASDE13
That took attention away from newsflow this week that had suggested supply in the Black Sea export zone may be less abundant than previously thoughtbecause of weather and war damage.
Wheat futures had found extra impetus earlier on Thursdayin news that a bulk carrier had been damaged after leaving Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the vessel carrying Ukrainian grain to Egypt had been hit by a Russian missile just after it exited Ukrainian territorial waters.
Romanian authorities said the ship had not been in its waters, while Russia did not immediately comment.
But like with previous attacks on vessels and ports on the Black Sea coast during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, traders said reaction was moderate in the absence of wider disruption to grain shipments.
News that Egypt purchased 430,000 tons of Russian wheat in a deal reported by Reuters and later confirmed by Egyptian state buyer GASC, also supported the market by showing ongoing demand for competitively priced Russian grain.
Strategie Grains further reduced its forecast for soft wheat production in the European Union in 2024 to a 12-year low as the consultancy cut again its estimate of the rain-hit French harvest.
($1 = 0.9047 euros)
Reporting by Gus Trompiz
Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Diane Craft
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