The wheat quotes in Chicago ended the trading day yesterday with moderate losses. Profit taking after two days of price increases weighed on the market. However, the severe cold in major US wheat-growing areas and worries about frost damage prevented greater losses. On the upper Mississippi River, ice drift still hinders shipping in the coming days. Institutional investors yesterday sold 2,000 lots of CBoT SRW wheat. Today at 14:30, the USDA releases the weekly US export sales with a one-day delay. Analysts expect wheat exports in a range of 225,000 to 500,000 tons. At the moment the electronic night market is trading with moderate losses. At Euronext in Paris, wheat futures closed at almost the same level as the day before. Support for Algeria's bid to purchase at least 50,000 tonnes of wheat of optional origin for shipment in February and delivery in March. The renewed increase in the exchange rate of the euro to the US dollar is weighing on the market and weakening the competitiveness of wheat from the euro area. The trading volume of Euronext Commodity contracts declined by 36.7% in December, averaging 38,024 lots in December.
