GRAINS-Soy steadies, corn holds firm with USDA data in focus

By Gus Trompiz and Naveen Thukral

PARIS/SINGAPORE, March 11 (Reuters) - Chicago soybeans steadied on Tuesday after a two-day fall while corn held at a one-week high as traders awaited a U.S. government crop report that may give an early projection of the impact on trade from recent tariff announcements.

Wheat fell back from a one-week top on Monday.

Fears that U.S. tariffs will hurt economic growth have unsettled financial markets, while grain investors are wary that China may shun U.S. soybeans in favour of a bumper Brazilian crop. MKTS/GLOB

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said that its World Agricultural Suppy and Demand Estimates report due at 1600 GMT will consider trade policies in place.

U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed new tariffs on Chinese goods, while also promising reciprocal levies against all trading partners. China has responded with retailiatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural goods.

"Grains traders await today's WASDE report which will take existing trade tariffs into account as part of the global forecasts for the world's corn, soybeans and wheat," Saxo Bank said.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 was up 0.4% at $10.18 a bushel by 1149 GMT, recovering from a near one-week low earlier in the day.

CBOT wheat Wv1 fell 0.5% to $5.59-3/4 a bushel, while corn Cv1 was up 0.5 at $4.74-1/2 a bushel after setting another one-week peak.

Trade tensions were adding to concerns about Chinese demand.

China's consumer price index in February missed expectations and fell at the sharpest pace in 13 months, while producer price deflation persisted.

"In the physical market, there are plenty of soybeans in South America,," said one grains trader in Singapore. "On top of that, we could see a slow down in Chinese demand."

U.S. corn, however, is being supported by limited alternative supply on the world market and analysts expect the USDA to trim its forecast for U.S. stocks at the end of this season.

In wheat, worries about dry weather in U.S. and Russian plains lent support to prices on Monday.

However, India's farm ministry said the country is likely to produce a record 115.4 million metric tons of wheat in 2025, tempering expectations of possible imports.