EU Wheat Close

07/10/10 -- Nov London wheat closed GBP2.25 higher at GBP157.30/tonne, with Nov Paris wheat up EUR4.00 at EUR208.00/tonne.

The pound broke through 1.60 against the dollar for the first time since late January, but stayed there only briefly before slipping back below 1.59 by the close.

The euro remains strong, setting a five month high of over 88 pence against the pound after the Halifax said British house prices plunged a record 3.6 percent in September.

Strength in Chicago grains added support ahead of another raft of key data from the USDA tomorrow.

Ukraine finally bit the bullet and said it would impose export quotas until at least the end of the year.

Brussels issued export licences for 480,000 MT of soft wheat this past week, bringing the cumulative total so far this marketing year to 6.8 MMT compared with 5.1 MMT this time last year. Barley exports are running at 1.5 MMT versus 289,000 MT twelve months ago.

UK exports are also continuing at a strong pace, with some already questioning how much wheat is going to be left for sale come the spring.