Russian wheat export prices rise again

MOSCOW, June 4 (Reuters): Russian wheat export prices rose again last week as harvest expectations continued to deteriorate, analysts said, while also noting high volatility and reduced demand.
The price of 12.5 per cent protein Russian wheat scheduled for free-on-board (FOB) delivery in late June was $248 per tonne, ending the week up $1 amid low demand, according to the IKAR consultancy.
The Sovecon agriculture consultancy pegged the same class of wheat at $252-$255 a ton, up from $242-$246 a tonne FOB.
"Traders noted a softening in demand as buyers anticipate lower prices," Sovecon said in a weekly note.
Industry analysts continued last week to lower their forecasts for this year's Russian harvest: Sovecon downgraded its wheat harvest forecast by 3.6 million tons to 82.1 million tons and Rusagrotrans by 5.7 million tonnes, under an optimistic scenario, to 84.2 million tons.
The weekly consensus forecast by the Rusgrain Union showed a 2.5 per cent decline in the 2024 wheat crop to 84.6 million tons.