GRAINS-Soy, corn futures retreat on weather as US-China optimism cools

By Julie Ingwersen

CHICAGO, June 11 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade soybean and corn futures drifted lower on Wednesday as initial optimism over the U.S. and China agreeing on the framework of a trade truce faded, and market players shifted their focus back to benign crop weather, analysts said.

As of 12:58 p.m. CDT (1758 GMT), CBOT July soybeans SN25 were down 5-1/4 cents at $10.52-1/2 per bushel. July corn CN25 dipped 2-1/4 cents to $4.36-1/2 a bushel and July wheat WN25 declined 1-1/2 cents to $5.33 a bushel.

Soybeans had earlier firmed as brokers cautiously welcomed news that Sino-U.S. trade talks had concluded in London, and President Donald Trump said a trade deal was "done." However, futures turned lower on a lack of specifics about agricultural goods.

China is the world's biggest soybean importer, while the U.S. is the No. 2 exporter of the oilseed.

"There was optimism off the bat on the U.S.-China trade talks. Then as we went forward, we were talking a lot about rare earths ... and not much talk about agriculture that I saw. I guess the devil is in the details," said Don Roose, president of Iowa-based U.S. Commodities.

Trump is reviewing the details of the China trade deal with his team, the White House said on Wednesday.

Weather forecasts in the heart of the Midwest crop belt were generally favorable. U.S. farmers have finished planting corn and are nearly done with soybeans.

"Weather maps continue to come out, for the most part, as non-threatening," Roose said.

Market players await a monthly supply/demand report due on Thursday from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that will include updated estimates of U.S. wheat production. Analysts also expect the USDA to trim its forecasts of domestic corn stockpiles, given a brisk pace of export sales.

Wheat futures continued this week's lower trend after the USDA on Monday raised its ratings for both spring and winter wheat crops, tempering concerns about rain damage in the run-up to harvesting.

Supply prospects have also been bolstered by a satisfactory crop outlook in top wheat exporter Russia.