GRAINS-Wheat recoups some losses but ample supply caps gains

CANBERRA, July 24 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat futures on Thursday clawed back some of their losses from a day before, but expectations of plentiful global supply limited the recovery and held prices near recent lows.

Corn futures rose slightly, but forecasts for crop-friendly rain in U.S. grain belts capped the gains.

Soybeans were unchanged amid news that China will reduce hog production and look for alternatives to soybean meal in feed rations.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Wv1 was up 0.5% at $5.43 a bushel, as of 0257 GMT, after falling 1.6% on Wednesday. Prices slipped to a five-year low of $5.06-1/4 in May.

* CBOT soybeans Sv1 were flat at $10.22-3/4 a bushel and corn Cv1 rose 0.2% to $4.18-1/4 a bushel.

* Updates from a crop tour of North Dakota's hard red spring wheat fields have underlined expectations of a good harvest, with per-acre yields falling from last year's records but remaining above average.

* Top exporter Russia trimmed its harvest estimate on Tuesday, temporarily supporting prices, but its production this year will still be large by historical standards.

* The market will be watching for revisions to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's estimates when it releases its World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report on August 12.

* Traders also hope that President Donald Trump will get foreign buyers to purchase more U.S. farm goods. Negotiations over a U.S.-European Union deal are ongoing and U.S.-China talks are scheduled for next week.

MARKETS NEWS

* Shares in Asia rallied and the Australian dollar hit an eight-month high as optimism over earnings and trade supported demand for higher yielding assets. MKTS/GLOB