GRAINS-Soybeans, corn, wheat set for weekly gains ahead of USDA report

BEIJING, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Chicago soybeans, corn and wheat were on track for weekly gains on Friday as traders adjusted positions ahead of a key U.S. supply and demand report.

As of 0342 GMT, the most active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 added 0.07% to $10.34-2/8 per bushel, though an absence of China demand continued to weigh on sentiment.

Wheat Wv1 fell 0.14% to $5.20-6/8 a bushel, while corn Cv1 remained little changed at $4.19-6/8 a bushel, but both contracts remain poised for weekly gains.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will release its world supply and demand report later in the day, with analysts widely expecting cuts to U.S. soybean and corn yield forecasts.

The agency is also expected to show a slight drop in U.S. wheat ending stocks, while world wheat stocks are forecast to rise, according to a Reuters analyst poll.

Weekly U.S. export sales showed 539,900 metric tons of 2025/26 corn were booked in the week ended September 4, below trade expectations.

Wheat sales came in at 305,400 metric tons, at the low end of forecasts, while soybean sales totaled 541,100 metric tons, also toward the low end.

In South America, Brazilian government crop agency Conab raised its estimate of the country's 2024/25 soybean harvest to a record 171.47 million metric tons, up from 169.65 million.

Brazilian farmers are poised to produce 180 million metric tons of soybeans in the 2025/26 season, nearly 10 million tons more than in 2024/25.

Ample global supply continues to cap wheat prices. Consultancies IKAR and Sovecon each raised their estimates for Russia's wheat harvest to around 87 million metric tons.

Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT corn, soy, wheat futures on Thursday, traders said. COMFUND/CBT