PARIS- Euronext spot wheat futures were little changed on Wednesday, holding near a six-week low as rising forecasts for Russia's harvest kept attention on ample global supply ahead of widely followed U.S. government crop forecasts.
Front-month September milling wheat BL2U0 on the Paris-based Euronext exchange was unchanged on the day at 177.75 euros ($209.25) a tonne at 1413 GMT, close to a six-week low of 176.75 euros struck on Monday and again on Tuesday.
Price moves and trading volumes were modest in the run-up the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) August supply and demand report due at 1600 GMT.
"The wheat market is still coming to terms with the big Russian crop," a futures dealer said.
Consultancy SovEcon said it had raised its estimate of Russia's 2020 crop to 80.9 million tonnes from 79.3 million, the latest in a series of forecast upgrades for the ongoing Russian harvest.
Chicago futures eased to near a one-month low.
The increased forecasts for Russia's harvest as well as some other exporting countries have taken attention away from a poor French crop that is set to drag European Union production lower this year.
In Germany, hot and sunny weather in the north meant farmers again made rapid progress on Wednesday in the final stages of wheat harvesting, traders said.
"I think over 95% of wheat in Germany has now been gathered and the good weather in August allowed the crop to be brought in without last-minute damage," a German trader said.
Initial quality indications suggested reasonable results but with lower protein levels in some areas.
"A fall in protein levels could clip Germany's export supplies. But the larger harvest expected in Russia means Germany is not likely to get much of a share of the export market in coming months," the trader added.
($1 = 0.8495 euros)
(Reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Michael Hogan in Hamburg; editing by John Stonestreet) ((gus.trompiz@thomsonreuters.com; +33 1 49 49 52 18; Reuters Messaging: gus.trompiz.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
