GRAINS-Soybeans set for weekly drop on lack of Chinese demand

SINGAPORE, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Soybeans ticked higher on Friday, but the market is on track for its first weekly decline in three weeks as a lack of Chinese demand for U.S. supplies continues to pressure prices.

Corn rose for a second consecutive session on strong demand for U.S. cargoes, while wheat firmed.

FUNDAMENTALS

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 added 0.3% to $10.51-1/2 a bushel, as of 0027 GMT, corn Cv1 gained 0.2% to $4.11 a bushel and wheat Wv1 was flat at $5.29 a bushel.

For the week, soybeans are down 0.7%, having closed higher in the last two weeks, corn and wheat are largely unchanged for the week.

China's absence from the U.S. soybean market is keeping a lid on prices.

The attention is on talks this week between the two nations. Senior Chinese trade negotiator Li Chenggang is expected to be in Washington this week to meet U.S. officials for trade talks.

Strong U.S. weekly export sales are underpinning corn prices.

Still, U.S. farmers are on track to harvest the nation's biggest corn crop in history this autumn, as well as a bumper soybean crop.

Wheat prices are facing headwinds amid higher production forecasts in major exporting countries and expected rainfall in U.S. winter wheat-growing areas in the coming days, analysts said.

Australia is on track to produce 32 million to 35 million metric tons of wheat in its upcoming harvest, said analysts, who raised their forecasts after an improvement in crop conditions and said they could further upgrade them.

MARKET NEWS

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average registered record closing highs on Thursday, even as Nvidia shares slipped amid uncertainty over its China business, while the dollar weakened against the euro and yen as traders anticipated U.S. interest rate cuts soon. MKTS/GLOB

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0645 France GDP QQ Final Q2

0645 France CPI (EU Norm) Prelim MM, YY August

0645 France CPI Prelim MM, YY NSA August

0645 France Producer Prices YY July

0755 Germany Unemployment Chg, Rate SA August

1200 Germany CPI Prelim YY August

1200 Germany HICP Prelim YY August

1230 US Consumption, Adjusted MM July

1230 US Core PCE Price Index MM, YY July

1230 US PCE Price Index MM, YY July

1400 US U Mich Sentiment Final August