PARIS: Euronext wheat eased on Wednesday after a day-earlier rebound stalled and hefty export supplies continued to weigh on the market. May milling wheat, the most active position on Paris-based Euronext, was down 0.9% at 197.50 euros ($213.46) a metric ton at 1614 GMT. It had climbed 2% on Tuesday to recover from a 2-1/2 year low of 194.25 euros, but failed to rise back above the psychological 200 euros threshold.

Chicago wheat also fell on Wednesday after leading Tuesday’s rally in futures by adding more than 3% to recover from a three-month low. A weaker dollar along with speculation that extra sanctions planned by Washington against Moscow could hurt Russian wheat exports had encouraged a flurry of short-covering on Tuesday, traders said.

But ample supplies of competitively priced wheat in Russia and the rest of the Black Sea zone hung over the market. “The supply outlook remains heavy in wheat as well as corn and soybeans,” a futures dealer said.

The prospect of another bumper harvest in Russia this year was taking attention away from rain-disrupted planting in western Europe that could reduce production there.

The French wheat market was nonetheless being supported by a brisk export loading programme, mainly to Morocco and China, as shown by LSEG port data.

Strong recent shipments from France have helped European Union wheat exports to narrow a gap with last season’s volume, though missing figures in official EU reporting were preventing exact year-on-year comparisons.

Financial investors extended their net short position in Euronext wheat last week, data published by the exchange on Wednesday showed.