PARIS: Euronext wheat edged lower on Wednesday, consolidating after a sharp rally in the past week, while traders awaited assessments of potential frost damage to US crops.

A purchase of Russian wheat by Egypt on Tuesday highlighted Black Sea competition, though a busy loading programme in top European Union supplier France helped to underpin Euronext prices, traders said. Trading volumes were light, with many participants away from their desks for the Christmas and New Year holidays.

March wheat on Paris-based Euronext was down 0.4% at 314 euros ($334.98) a tonne by 1453 GMT. On Tuesday, the contract reached its highest since Nov. 30 at 316 euros. Extreme cold weather in the United States had fuelled a rally on Euronext, raising fears of damage to US wheat plants already weakened by drought.

But with arctic conditions subsiding in US crop plains, traders were waiting for a clearer picture of possible losses. Wheat prices remained capped by Russian competition in export markets. Egypt’s state grains buyer is believed to have booked 80,000 tonnes of Russian wheat on Tuesday, traders said.