EU Wheat Ends Monday's Session Mixed

Eu wheat futures closed mixed, with Paris wheat higher on a weak euro and London wheat lower on a stronger pound.

Paris March milling wheat ended up EUR4.75 at EUR143.00/tonne, whilst London May feed wheat closed down GBP2.50 at GBP111.75/tonne.

As mentioned on the blog over the weekend, London wheat has appreciated around GBP20/tonne since contract lows set in early December, and I guess that at least a bit of that rally was overdone, particularly in very thin holiday trade.

The pound bounced from under 1.04 against the euro in early trade to close close to 1.08 at the end of the day, halting December's steep decline.

Cold air sweeping in from the east has provided snow cover for dormant wheat across many parts of Europe, which will protect plants from winterkill as temperatures plunge well below zero in all but the most northerly regions tonight.

Crude oil was sharply higher, lending some support, as tensions in the Middle East increase and Russia digs it's heels in with Ukraine over gas supplies.