High Water to Stop Shipping on Germany's Rhine River

High water is likely to stop shipping on the river Rhine in south Germany until at least Thursday morning, a state agency said on Tuesday.

Shipping was stopped over the weekend on southern sections of the river as rain caused a sharp rise in water levels.

The river remained closed to shipping south of Koblenz on Tuesday, the navigation authority in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg said.

But Rhine water levels are starting to fall following dryer weather and as no major rain is forecast in river catchment areas in for the rest of the week the situation should improve, the authority said.

The German section of the river Danube also remained closed to shipping on Tuesday with the flooding in several regions including the city centre of Passau and river water levels still rising.

The Rhine is a major gateway for German imports and exports of grains, oil, oil products, coal and chemicals routed via Europe's leading port of Rotterdam. The Danube is a major transport route for east European grain exports to west Europe.

--Reporting by Michael Hogan; editing by Jason Neely and Keiron Henderson (C) Reuters 2013.