Euronext Wheat Futures reached a new four-week high on Wednesday as weather setbacks from Russia offset the recent pressure of brisk Black Sea Exports.

December wheat, which was the most actively traded position on Paris' Euronext, closed 1.4% higher at 223.00 Euros ($245.52) per metric ton.

The contract reached 223.50 euro earlier, its highest level since August 13 and above the three-week high of 222.50 euro set last Friday.

After the expiration of September futures on Tuesday at 188.75 euro, December is now Euronext's front-month.

The wheat markets were impacted by the large exports of Russia and Ukraine. This diverted attention from the French harvest that was affected by rain.

Black Sea supplies are expected to be lower than usual due to concerns about the size of Russia’s harvest, and that drought could hamper next year's planting.

The bullish Russia headlines are continuing. One futures dealer stated that there is a crop in Kursk which will not be harvested, and too much rain has been falling in the spring wheat zones.

According to the regional governor, on Wednesday, the economic damage caused by Ukraine's incursion in Russia's predominantly agricultural Kursk Region is estimated at nearly $1 billion.

After torrential rainfall, parts of Siberia where Russian spring wheat grows have declared an emergency state for agriculture.

Ukrainian Agrarian Council and analysts on Wednesday said that domestic and export prices of wheat in Ukraine are expected to increase over the next few weeks due to the much smaller stocks.

The Black Sea region has contributed to the expectation that the market for wheat is recovering from its seasonal lows following the northern hemisphere's harvest.

The market participants also adjusted their positions in anticipation of the closely followed monthly crop report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday.

Data published by Euronext showed that financial investors have reduced their net short positions in wheat.

(source: Reuters)