?European traders'reported that the state grain agency of Algeria, OAIC, had?purchased milling wheat at an international tender that?closed Wednesday.

Initial reports indicated that the cost of a metric tonne, including freight and cost (c&f), was between $268 and $270. The majority were said to be purchased at $270.

Initial estimates put the size of the order in tonnage at around 650,000 tonnes. The end of?negotiations was not clear.

Algerian purchases are optional, but traders anticipated that the Black Sea region would be a significant source of?the purchase.

The tender requested shipment in two periods, including Europe, from the main supply region: July 1-15 July 16-31. The wheat must be shipped one month sooner if it comes from South America or Australia.

The reports?reflect the assessments of traders, and it is still possible to estimate prices and volumes?later. Algeria is the largest wheat importer in the world. It has been a major customer of wheat imported from the European Union and especially France, but Russia, and other exporters in the?Black Sea Region, have seen a strong expansion. The OAIC bought 690,000 tonnes of wheat in March at $272 per ton, including freight. Reporting by Michael Hogan, Hamburg; Gus Trompiz, and Sybille De La Hamaide, Paris

(source: Reuters)