GRAINS-Soybeans hit 3-month high on US-China trade deal, USDA report

By Heather Schlitz

CHICAGO, May 12 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean futures notched a three-month high on Monday as a truce in the U.S.-China trade war and a bullish U.S. Department of Agriculture report helped prices recover to pre-trade war levels, traders and analysts said.

Wheat slid to lifetime lows on good U.S. harvest prospects and bigger-than-expected world and U.S. wheat ending stocks, while corn futures were mixed.

The U.S. and China agreed on Monday to temporarily slash their steep tariffs on each other, sending global stocks surging as the world's top two economies tapped the brakes on a trade war that had fed fears of a global recession.

Soybeans have been the hardest-hit U.S. crop in the trade standoff, as China - the world's top soy importer - continues to shift purchases to Brazil from the United States. The trade war also included a stop on other U.S. grain exports to China.

Chicago Board of Trade's most-active CBOT soybeans Sv1 settled 19-1/2 cents higher at $10.71-1/4 per bushel, while corn Cv1 closed 1-3/4 cents lower at $4.48 per bushel.

Wheat Wv1 fell 6-1/2 cents to settle at $5.15-1/4 per bushel, with all wheat contracts hitting lifetime lows.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's first forecast for next year's corn inventories fell short of analysts' estimates, helping to underpin futures prices. Its estimate for global and U.S. soybean supplies also missed expectations.

The numbers were "quite a bit surprising," said Rich Nelson, a strategist at research firm Allendale, referring to the USDA's corn and soybean stock estimates.

U.S. corn supplies are expected to expand 27% next year as farmers increase plantings this spring after uncertainty over Chinese demand discouraged some growers from planting soybeans.

Wheat prices have also faced headwinds from weak U.S. exports and favorable weather across the U.S. Plains.