EU wheat drifts in US holiday lull, maize extends rally on weather woe

Euronext wheat inched down on Friday as reports of satisfactory volumes in a fast-moving French harvest tempered weather concerns in thin trading marked by a U.S. holiday closure.

Maize futures extended gains, however, to fresh contract highs as a plunge in French crop conditions after a heatwave and forecasts for more hot, dry weather maintained fears of a poor harvest.

September wheat EURONEXT:EBM1! on Paris-based Euronext was 0.3% down at €201.50 ($230.42) a metric ton by 1605 GMT.

After climbing to a four-week high at €210.75 during last week's record heatwave in France, the benchmark contract has fallen back towards the psychological €200 floor.

Soufflet Agriculture said it expects soft wheat production of 31.5 million to 32 million metric tons, against 33.4 million last year. Echoing other market participants, the grain handler said yields were improving during the harvest after some dire early results.

Ratings for soft wheat crops fell to 68% good/excellent by June 29, down from 74% a week earlier but still up from 67% a year ago, farm office FranceAgriMer said on Friday.

The soft wheat harvest was 26% complete, well ahead of a five-year average of 5% for the same week.

At the same time, expectations of bumper crops in the Black Sea export region, including Russia, suggested ample global supply again in the new season.

Black Sea origins were seen as best placed to win sales in a large Saudi import tender. Despite talk of improved quality in the new harvest, French wheat was not expected to be a frontrunner in the tender, results of which are due on Monday.

November maize EURONEXT:EMA1! on Euronext was 0.9% up at €230.75 a ton. It earlier set another contract high at €232.25 to widen its exceptionally high premium over wheat.

Crop ratings for French maize plummeted last week to a 13-year low, FranceAgriMer's data showed.

French growers are already projecting a 30% drop in maize production as crop damage from the June heatwave comes on top of a sharp fall in planting.

Another hot spell in the coming days, with temperatures forecast to approach 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of southern France, could further stress maize plants, particularly non-irrigated fields given an absence of rain in the short-term weather outlook.

($1 = 0.8745 euros)