GRAINS-Wheat and corn slip again on supply pressure, soybeans steady

By Gus Trompiz and Naveen Thukral

PARIS/SINGAPORE, June 10 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat and corn futures fell for a second session on Tuesday, with corn setting a new 2025 low, as favourable crop conditions in the United States and elsewhere maintained supply pressure on the cereal markets.

Soybeans edged higher as ongoing trade talks between China, the world's No. 1 importer of the oilseed, and the United States, the second-largest exporter, fuelled optimism about a resolution of the countries' tariff battle.

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade Wv1 was down 1.3% at $5.35 a bushel by 1135 GMT, retreating further from a seven-week peak struck during Monday's session.

CBOT corn Cv1 fell 0.7% to $4.30-1/2 a bushel. It earlier reached its weakest level since Dec. 5 at $4.30, below a previous six-month low hit last week.

Wheat rallied last week as escalation in the Russia-Ukraine war and concerns over rain disrupting the U.S. harvest encouraged short-covering.

But improved ratings for U.S. crops and a sharp upward revision by consultancy Sovecon to its forecast for Russia's 2025 wheat harvest put the focus back on the prospect of plentiful Northern Hemisphere harvests.

In its weekly crop progress report released after Monday's market close, the U.S. Department of Agriculture increased its estimates for the share of U.S. winter and spring wheat in good/excellent condition by more than expected on average by analysts.

That took attention away from a rain-slowed start to the winter wheat harvest, with the USDA estimating 4% of the crop was harvested, lagging the five-year average of 7%.

For corn, the agency increased its good-to-excellent score to above the average estimate by analysts surveyed by Reuters.

"U.S. weather forecasts remain favourable for corn development," CM Navigator analyst Donatas Jankauskas said in a note. "Concerns about the upcoming wheat crop are also not strong enough to support sustained rallies."

A slowdown in weekly U.S. wheat export inspections, also reported by the USDA on Monday, added to the bearish mood.

U.S. corn export inspections topped trade expectations, but with Brazil's second-crop corn harvest getting started, the export window for U.S. corn sales may be narrowing, traders said.

CBOT soybeans Sv1 ticked up 0.1% to $10.57-1/4 a bushel.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Tuesday trade talks with China were going well as the two sides met for a second day in London.

Chinese tit-for-tat tariffs on U.S. agricultural goods have curbed soybean trade, with Brazil dominating record Chinese soybean imports in May.

After a bumper Brazilian harvest, a good start to the U.S. growing season was also hanging over the soybean market. The USDA rated 68% of the soybean crop as being in good to excellent condition, in line with expectations.