GRAINS-Wheat inches higher on cut to Russian supply estimate

CANBERRA, July 16 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat futures rose on Wednesday after a Russian consultancy reduced its production estimate for the world's top exporter of the grain, but prices remain near five-year lows amid ample supply and sluggish demand.

Corn futures climbed as the contract continued to enjoy a bounce from low levels fuelled by bargain hunters and short-covering.

Soybeans also gained, but a lack of Chinese demand for U.S. beans and expectations for a large U.S. harvest kept a lid on prices.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The most active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Wv1 was up 0.2% at $5.39-1/4 a bushel by 0155 GMT but not far from May's five-year low of $5.06-1/4.

* CBOT corn Cv1 rose 0.5% to $4.22 a bushel, having climbed from a contract low of $4.07-1/2 on Monday.

* Soybeans Sv1 were up 0.6% at $10.07-3/4 a bushel after touching $9.98-1/4 on Monday, their lowest point since April 9.

* Russia's IKAR consultancy cut its 2025 wheat production forecast to 84.0 million metric tons from 84.5 million tons and its wheat export forecast to 42 million tons in the new marketing season from 42.5 million tons.

* "The revision is mostly associated with lower yields in the south of Russia," IKAR said in a note.

* Wheat prices are under seasonal pressure from ongoing northern hemisphere harvests.

* The U.S. the Department of Agriculture said on Monday that the U.S. winter wheat harvest was 63% complete as of Sunday and 54% of the spring wheat crop was in good to excellent condition, up from 50% a week earlier and above all trade estimates.

* On the demand side, Algerian state grains agency OAIC bought about 1 million metric tons of milling wheat in an international tender, European traders said.

* In the background are concerns among traders that U.S. President Donald Trump's renewed tariff policies could prompt retaliation against U.S. farm exports.

* In soybeans, the U.S. crush topped an average of trade expectations in June and reached the highest ever level for the sixth month of the year, while soyoil stocks dropped to a five-month low, according to National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) data released on Tuesday.

* Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT corn and net sellers of wheat and soybeans on Tuesday, traders said.

MARKETS NEWS

* MSCI's global equities index lost ground on Tuesday after touching a record high, while U.S. Treasury yields hit their highest level in more than a month, as investors digested a slight rise in U.S. inflation and took a mixed view of quarterly results from big banks. MKTS/GLOB