GRAINS-Chicago soybeans and corn steady on favourable weather; wheat edges higher

BEIJING/PARIS, July 31 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean futures were flat on Thursday, holding near a four-month low amid favourable weather, abundant global supplies and sluggish Chinese demand.

The most active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 was barely changed at $9.95-1/4 a bushel at 1045 GMT after four consecutive sessions of losses.

Corn futures Cv1 were unchanged at $4.12-1/4 per bushel, pressured by favourable Midwest weather that is boosting expectations of a strong U.S. harvest.

Harvesting has already begun on the far southern fringes of the crop belt, including Texas and Louisiana, weekly U.S. data showed.

Wheat Wv1 gained 0.1% to $5.24-1/2 a bushel after rising for two consecutive session, supported by concern over the European harvest.

Ukraine's 2025 grain harvest, however, is likely to fall to between 51 million and 52 million metric tons, from about 55 million tons in 2024, mostly owing to poor weather, the deputy head of Ukraine's largest farm union said on Thursday.

UAC's Denys Marchuk said the harvest could include 21 million tons of wheat, down from 22 million tons harvested in 2024.

Meanwhile the European Commission trimmed its forecast for usable production of both soft wheat and maize (corn) in the European Union in 2025/26.

Traders are awaiting weekly U.S. grain and soybean export sales data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture later on Thursday. The agency is also expected to raise its U.S. corn yield estimate in a monthly crop report due on August 12.