France Tops U.S. Wheat With Premium Seen at Record
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Surging demand for European Union wheat is reducing stockpiles to a 14-year low and driving prices in France, the biggest exporter, to a record premium over U.S. grain after drought withered supply from the Black Sea region.
EU licenses to ship wheat in the six weeks to Oct. 23 were 51 percent higher than a year ago, data from the bloc showed today. French grain for March delivery trades at a premium of 39 cents a bushel to Chicago futures, from a 78-cent discount in July. That will widen to 50 cents by the time the contracts expire, the highest since they began trading, according to the median of five analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.