GRAINS-Wheat retreats on harvest pressure; corn, soybeans end lower

By Julie Ingwersen

CHICAGO, June 9 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat futures fell about 2% on Monday on seasonal pressure from the start of the Northern Hemisphere winter wheat harvest and corn futures sagged on mostly favorable crop weather, traders said.

Soybean futures followed the weaker trend but nearby contracts were choppy, firming at times on optimism over U.S.-China trade talks being held in London.

Chicago Board of Trade July wheat WN25 settled down 12-3/4 cents, or 2.3%, at $5.42 bushel, snapping a three-session climb, and July corn CN25 ended down 9 cents, or 2%, at $4.33-1/2 a bushel.

CBOT July soybeans SN25 finished down 1-1/4 cents at $10.56 per bushel while new-crop November soybeans SX25 fell 6-1/4 cents to settle at $10.30-3/4.

Wheat futures slid as the winter wheat harvest got under way and speculators paused after a short-covering bounce last week.

Also, Russian agricultural consultancy Sovecon raised its forecast for Russia's 2025 wheat harvest by 1.8 million metric tons to 82.8 million tons, citing good weather. Russia is the world's biggest wheat exporter.

However, the U.S. harvest is off to a slow start. After the close of the CBOT, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said winter wheat was 4% harvested, up just a percentage point from the previous week, lagging the five-year average of 7%. In rain-hit Oklahoma, the wheat harvest was only 5% complete, compared to the state's average of 23%.

Corn and soybean condition ratings improved. The USDA rated 71% of the U.S. corn crop in good-to-excellent condition, up 2 points from 69% last week, while analysts on average had expected only a 1-point improvement. Soybeans were rated 68% good-to-excellent, up a point from last week and in line with expectations.

"The crops are in the ground and they are emerging well, and the weather is good. That takes a lot of energy out of the markets," said Jack Scoville, vice president of the Price Futures Group in Chicago.

The USDA reported export inspections of U.S. corn in the latest week at 1.657 million tons, topping trade expectations. However, with Brazil's second-crop corn harvest getting started, the window for U.S. corn sales may be slowing.

"People are getting a little worried about our ability to sell into the world market," Scoville said.

Market players were monitoring talks in London between the United States and China aimed at cooling a trade dispute between the world's two largest economies. China is by far the world's largest soybean buyer.