Euronext Wheat ended Thursday slightly lower as an unexpected rise in a closely followed forecast for the U.S. Corn Crop encouraged prices to consolidate following a rally related to Black Sea Supply Concerns, traders said.

The December wheat contract, which was the most actively traded on Euronext in Paris, closed 0.1% lower at 222.75 euro ($246.21) per metric ton.

The contract reached its highest level since August 9 at 226.50 Euros, before falling after the U.S. Department of Agriculture released their monthly crop report near the end of Euronext's session.

The USDA has surpassed market expectations in its latest projections of U.S. corn production and global wheat stocks.

This week's news reports suggested that the Black Sea export zone might be less plentiful than thought due to weather and war damages.

The news of a damaged bulk carrier after it left Ukraine had given wheat futures an extra boost on Thursday.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, said that a Russian missile had struck a vessel transporting Ukrainian grain to Egypt just after it left Ukrainian territorial waters.

The Russian authorities did not comment immediately, but Romanian authorities claimed that the ship was not in their waters.

As with the previous attacks on ships and ports along the Black Sea Coast during Russia's invasion in Ukraine, traders reported that the reaction was mild as there were no wider disruptions to grain shipments.

The news that Egypt had purchased 430,000 tonnes of Russian wheat, as reported and confirmed later by Egyptian state buyer GASC also helped to support the market. It showed a continued demand for grain at a competitive price.

Strategie Grains has further cut its forecast of soft wheat production for the European Union by 2024, to the lowest level in 12 years. The consultancy also reduced its estimate of the French rain-hit harvest. Reporting by Gus Trompiz, Editing by Alexandra Hudson, Diane Craft.

(source: Reuters)