EU wheat falls as euro and Russian exports weigh

PARIS, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Euronext wheat fell for a second session on Friday as a slide in Chicago, a bounce in the euro and a recovery in Russian exports weighed on prices after they hit a one-month high this week, traders said.

December milling wheat on Euronext settled 1% down at €244.75 ($274.71) a metric ton at the close.

The benchmark contract retreated from a one-month peak of €249.75 touched on Wednesday and again on Thursday.

A 17-month low for the euro against the dollar, a large import purchase by Algeria and ongoing attacks on Black Sea shipping had spurred gains in Euronext prices earlier in the week.

Illustrating unusual export demand generated by Black Sea disruption, a vessel is due to load 36,000 tons of French wheat for Oman later this month at the Atlantic port of La Pallice, LSEG data showed.

But a bounce in the euro since Thursday and signs of rising Russian exports through the Baltic Sea tempered export optimism in Western Europe.

Some Russian observers see potential for the country's wheat exports to rise to 3 million tons in October, extending a recovery from September, as traders expand use of rail logistics to supply Baltic ports.

"To have 3 million tons per month from Russia is not the usual 4.5-5 million post-harvest, but it's not zero and more than people expected," a futures trader said.

Chicago wheat dropped to a two-month low, with supply pressure from the US corn harvest also weighing. GRA/

In France, farmers had planted 15% of the expected soft wheat area for next year's harvest by October 12, lagging the average pace of the last five years, farm office FranceAgriMer said.

Traders are watching to see if rain forecast for the week ahead materializes and helps ease drought.

($1 = 0.8909 euros)