MOSCOW, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Russian wheat prices fell last week, tracking lower prices in Chicago and Paris, analysts said on Monday, adding that they were monitoring tensions between Moscow and the West. Russian stocks and the rouble took a hit last week after the United States said it feared Moscow was readying a pretext to justify an invasion Ukraine should diplomacy fail to meet its objectives. Russian wheat with 12.5% protein content loading from Black Sea ports for supply in January stood at $328 a tonne free on board (FOB), down $2 from thin trade in early January, the IKAR agriculture consultancy said. Sovecon, another consultancy, pegged wheat at down $1 at $332 per tonne, with barley down $2 at $295 a tonne. Russia's New Year holiday lasted from Dec. 31 to Jan. 9. Russian wheat exports are down by 39% since the start of the 2021/22 marketing season on July 1, owing to a smaller crop and an export tax that had been set at $97.5 per tonne for Jan. 19-25. This winter has been very friendly for the 2022 crop so far, with healthy precipitation in most of Russia's winter wheat-producing regions and warm weather, Sovecon said. Other Russian data provided by Sovecon and IKAR: Product: Price at the end Change from week of last week: earlier - Domestic 3rd class 15,075 roubles/t +200 rbls wheat, European part ($198.81) of Russia, excludes delivery (Sovecon) - Sunflower seeds 35,375 rbls/t +475 rbls (Sovecon) - Domestic sunflower 86,000 rbls/t +650 rbls oil (Sovecon) - export sunflower $1,350/t +$35 oil (Sovecon) - export sunflower $1,345/t +$35 oil (IKAR) - soybeans (Sovecon) 43,700 rbls/t +400 rbls - white sugar, $669.2/t +$10.65 Russia's south (IKAR) ($1 = 75.8250 roubles) (Reporting by Olga Popova and Polina Devitt; Editing by Pravin Char)