The European wheat price fell on Monday due to a rising euro against the dollar, which makes supplies denominated in euros more expensive on global markets.

The benchmark December milling grain on the Paris-based Euronext Exchange ended down 2% to 214.50 Euros ($224.69).

Recent euro weakness has supported European wheat, which faces stiffer competition from Black Sea origins.

The Russian agricultural consultancy Sovecon cut its forecasts for wheat and grain due to the expectation of tighter export quotas by the Russian government.

MARS, the EU's crop monitoring service, said that on Monday, warmer and dryer weather than usual in much of Europe helped farmers to accelerate their crop planting.

The results of Algeria’s wheat tender, which was held for two ports this week, would have traders watching closely. Dealers were also relieved to see that the fighting in Ukraine had not escalated.

One German trader stated that "we have been thankfully not seen the escalation of fighting in Ukraine, as some had feared following the Russian missile attack last Thursday."

The EU faces a heavy export competition from the Black Sea. Ships from Russia and Ukraine are sailing normally.

Russian wheat exports have been running above 1 million tons per week despite expectations of a slowerdown. The weather is not a threat to Russian crops at the moment.

Prices in Poland rose last week as a result of stronger international markets, and farmers selling less.

Prices for protein 12.5% for port silo deliveries in December rose by 10 zloty per week, to 980 (226.5 euros).

Poland's exports are still depressed due to Black Sea competition. A vessel at Gdansk/Gdynia is currently the only large ship loading wheat. It's taking 33,000 tons of wheat for Morocco. (Reporting and editing by Susan Fenton, Sybille de la Hamaide and Michael Hogan)

(source: Reuters)