GRAINS-Corn steadies after slide on record US crop forecast

By Gus Trompiz and Naveen Thukral

PARIS/SINGAPORE, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Chicago corn edged higher on Wednesday, steadying after a more than 3% drop in the previous session when the U.S. Department of Agriculture shocked the market with its projection of a record U.S. crop well above trade expectations.

Soybeans also edged up, extending gains to the highest price in almost a month with support from a reduced USDA harvest outlook and a pause in a slide in Canadian canola.

Wheat was little changed after setting another five-year low, with supply pressure in cereals hanging over the market.

U.S. farmers will produce a record-breaking corn crop in 2025/26, the USDA said on Tuesday as the agency surprised traders with steep upward revisions to both yield and area projections.

"Even the increase in the export target ... was overshadowed by the psychological impact of production exceeding 420 million tons," Argus analysts said in a note.

A record U.S. harvest is set to further bolster global supply as Brazil wraps up a bumper second annual corn crop, while in Ukraine, another major exporter, expectations are rising for this year's corn production.

Traders will monitor whether Wednesday's consolidation marks a pause or a possible start to a corn price recovery.

A Singapore-based grains trader said the corn market had priced in a bearish outlook and expected any further selling to be limited.

The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade Cv1 was up 0.5% at $3.96-1/2 a bushel by 1112 GMT. The benchmark had lost 3.2% on Tuesday when individual delivery positions set contract lows.

For soybeans, the USDA lowered its harvest forecast as it shifted a large chunk of planted area towards corn, outweighing an increase in its soy yield projection to a record high.

The tighter supply outlook pushed soybean futures higher on Tuesday, countering pressure from a plunge in canola prices following China's announcement of anti-dumping duties on Canadian canola imports.

CBOT soybeans Sv1 added 0.9% to $10.41-3/4 a bushel, after touching their highest since July 18 at $10.42-1/2.

November canola RSX5 on ICE rose 1.1% to C$657.20 ($477.58) per metric ton, after falling on Tuesday by as much as its daily limit of C$45 to a four-month low.

CBOT wheat Wv1 was up 0.3% at $5.06-1/4 a bushel, having earlier reached a latest five-year trough at $5.02-1/4.

Wheat faced spillover pressure from corn on Tuesday, even as the USDA trimmed its outlook for U.S. and global wheat supply.

Harvest progress in the Northern Hemisphere continued to weigh on wheat.

The market was also anticipating that Friday's meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin could lead to a ceasefire in Russia's war with Ukraine, facilitating exports from the major wheat-producing countries.

($1 = 1.3761 Canadian dollars)