PARIS/CANBERRA: Chicago wheat futures edged down on Tuesday after rallying to a three-month top as the market watched to see if a hefty sale of US wheat to China would herald a wave of export demand.

Soybeans steadied after a one-month low on Monday that was fuelled by improved rain prospects in Brazil. Corn was also little changed, with participants turning their attention to crop data later this week.

The Chicago Board of Trade’s (CBOT) most-active wheat contract was down 0.5% at $6.17-1/2 a bushel by 1215 GMT.

The contract on Monday reached its highest since Aug. 28 at $6.26-1/2 as the announcement of the largest one-off US wheat export sale to China since 2020 added impetus to a recent rally.

The news buoyed a market in which speculators hold a huge net short position, making it vulnerable to bouts of short-covering that push prices higher.

Traders were awaiting the outcome of a tender being held by Egypt on Tuesday as a gauge of export competition after a recent rise in Russian prices amid bad weather in the Black Sea.

Increased official forecasts of 2023/24 wheat production in major exporters Canada and Australia, however, underscored a backdrop of ample global supply that had helped push wheat prices lower in recent months.