GRAINS-Bargain hunting pushes up corn futures, ample supply limits gains

CANBERRA, July 15 (Reuters) - Chicago corn futures rose on Tuesday thanks to bargain-buying and short-covering, but expectations for a large U.S. harvest limited gains, holding prices close to Monday's contract lows.

Soybeans edged lower amid plentiful supply from the Americas. Wheat futures climbed, but remain under pressure from northern hemisphere harvests pouring new supply into the market.

The most active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Cv1 was up 0.2% at $4.19 a bushel by 0407 GMT. The December delivery contract hit a low of $4.07-1/2 on Monday.

CBOT soybeans Sv1 edged down 0.1% to $10.06 a bushel after touching $9.98-1/4 on Monday, their lowest level since April 9.

Wheat Wv1 was up 0.3% at $5.43 a bushel, though prices remain near May's 5-year low of $5.17-1/4.

Crop-friendly U.S. weather conditions have hung over the corn and soy markets in recent weeks.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Monday that 74% of the U.S. corn crop and 70% of its soybean crop were in good-or-excellent condition - the highest July ratings since 2016.

That said, speculators expecting a big corn harvest have built up large short positions, and any indication of less-than-perfect progress for the crop could trigger short covering, StoneX analyst Arlan Suderman said in a note.

Corn had been oversold, wrote analysts at JPMorgan. "We remain fundamentally constructive on CBOT corn and see value for consumers at current levels," they said.

China, the world's biggest soybean buyer, imported record volumes of soy in June, a Reuters calculation of customs data showed, driven by a surge in shipments from top supplier Brazil.

The National Oilseed Processors Association is expected to say the U.S. soybean crush dropped in June to a four-month low, analysts said. It would still be the largest June crush on record due to expanded processing capacity.

Russian wheat export prices rose last week amid the slow arrival of new crop and low yields in the southern part of the country, while export shipments accelerated slightly, analysts said.