Euronext wheat futures rose on Friday in a timid attempt to rebound from the previous days lows, but traders said cheaper Russian supplies would continue to weigh on export sentiment.

Thus, on Friday, March wheat on Euronext rose by 2.1% to 209.50 euros ($225.88) per ton. Chicago wheat Wv1 also rose about 2% after hitting a three-week low on Thursday.

The European market still remains focused on the drop in Russian export prices this week, which has darkened the outlook for exports.

"General market sentiment remains subdued after prices in Russia fell sharply this week. No new significant tenders have been published, and the start of the Chinese New Year holiday is also expected to reduce demand in Asia,” said a German trader.

"At the moment, Euronext is hovering around €208 per ton, but if we want to be competitive for exports, levels of around €205-200 per ton could happen," the German trader added.

Some traders cited market rumors that Russian authorities had lowered the semi-official floor export price, with some quoting $235 per tonne FOB compared to $250 previously.

"This will make Russian wheat more competitive in international auctions, but there are no big auctions in the market and Russian private sale export prices are around or below the $220/t level this week anyway," another trader said.

Large flows of Ukrainian wheat into the European Union also put pressure on the market.

Italian buyers bought new crop Ukrainian wheat with 11% protein this week at 205 to 210 euros a tonne, including delivery by rail or truck in August/September, local traders said.

Data on EU grain exports and imports will not be published this week due to an ongoing technical problem, the European Commission said on Friday.