GRAINS-Chicago soybeans falls on lack of China buying; crop estimate report eyed

BEIJING, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Chicago soybeans slipped on Tuesday as traders squared positions ahead of a key crop estimate report, while an absence of demand from top buyer China continued to weigh.

The most active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 lost 0.1% to $10.32-6/8 per bushel as of 0257 GMT.

Market participants are awaiting the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) global supply and demand reports on Friday, which will include the 2025-26 global ending stock estimates for wheat, corn, and soybeans.

Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist for StoneX, said the USDA is expected to reduce its soybean yield estimate in Friday's report, similar to the corn yield.

"A reduction isn't assured, but it is assumed by the industry, since August weather has not been favourable to this year's corn and soybean crops, and weather in September isn't much better," he added in a Monday note.

In China, soybean imports notched their best August on record, as buyers snapped up large volumes from South America amid ongoing Sino-U.S. trade tensions.

Corn Cv1 dropped 0.24% to $4.20-6/8 a bushel, while wheat Wv1 eased 0.14% to $5.23 a bushel.

According to the USDA, U.S. corn and soybean crop conditions eroded for a second straight week last week.

As of Sunday, 68% of the U.S. corn crop was rated in good-to-excellent condition, down one percentage point from a week ago, but the highest for this time of year since 2018.

Soybean crops were rated 64% good to excellent, down one point from the prior week, but slightly better than analysts' expectations.

Meanwhile, the U.S. spring wheat harvest advanced to 85% completion by Sunday, up from 72% a week earlier and slightly above market expectations.