Euronext Wheat Futures rose on Thursday for the third consecutive day, reaching a new peak of one month. Reports that a grain ship had been struck by a missile on the Black Sea kept attention on the supply risks in this vital export zone.

The gains were modest, but the grain markets are awaiting Thursday's highly anticipated monthly crop report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The most active December wheat position on Paris' Euronext was up 0.9% at 225.00 Euros ($248.29 a metric tonne) by 1532 GMT.

The contract reached its highest level since August 9 at 226.50 Euros, above the peak of Wednesday's 223.50 euros.

Prices gained further support after news broke that a Russian bulk carrier was damaged shortly after it left Ukraine.

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 officials said 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 by Egyptian state buyer GASC and confirmed later by them, 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 its lowest level in 12 years. The consultancy also reduced its estimate for the French rain-damaged harvest.

(source: Reuters)