GRAINS-Wheat near five-year trough, corn at contract lows as supply weighs

PARIS/CANBERRA, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat futures eased on Tuesday to approach their lowest since 2020 as seasonal supply pressure from Northern Hemisphere harvests weighed on the market.

Corn edged down to set fresh contract lows, with steady U.S. crop conditions and a bumper Brazilian harvest also keeping the focus on ample supply.

Soybeans, however, ticked higher as they recovered from a four-month low, supported by larger-than-expected weekly U.S. export inspections, a slight fall in U.S. crop ratings and a rebound in palm oil futures. POI/

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade Wv1 was down 0.2% at $5.15-1/2 a bushel by 1111 GMT. It earlier hit its weakest level since mid-May at $5.11-1/2, hovering near a five-year low of $5.06-1/4 struck at that time.

"The reasons for the price weakness are mainly to be found on the supply side," Commerzbank said of wheat. "First and foremost, the advancing harvests in the Northern Hemisphere are bringing new supplies onto the market."

Participants have played down mixed crop results in Russia and focused on ample overall volumes across the Northern Hemisphere.

Ukraine's 2025 wheat output could be upgraded to 22 million metric tons from 21.2 million tons, and its corn production raised to 28 million tons from 26.5 million tons, the country's deputy economy minister said. He added that stable export demand will encourage farmers to expand winter wheat area for the 2026 crop.

Rain has also eased concern over dryness affecting wheat in Canada as well as in Southern Hemisphere exporters Australia and Argentina.

"Conditions have recently improved in the troubled spots of Canada and Australia," said Commonwealth Bank analyst Dennis Voznesenski.

Tepid international demand has tempered worries over a slow start to the export campaign in top wheat supplier Russia. GRA/TEND

CBOT December corn CZ25 fell 0.4% to $4.05-1/2 a bushel. It earlier hit a contract low of $4.03-1/4 but held above the psychological $4 floor.

CBOT soybeans Sv1 added 0.3% to $9.97-1/4 a bushel, having hit a near four-month low of $9.86 on Friday and again on Monday.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture in a report on Monday said corn ratings were stable from the previous week, posting a nine-year high. The score for soybeans ticked down but still represented a five-year high for the period.