GRAINS-Soybeans at six-week low on no Chinese buying; wheat eases

By Naveen Thukral and Michael Hogan

SINGAPORE/HAMBURG, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Chicago soybeans fell to a six-week low on Monday, as a phone call last week between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping provided no signs of progress on negotiations over agricultural exports.

Wheat fell on expectations of ample global supplies. Corn dipped as dealers awaited the report on U.S. harvest progress from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), due later in the day.

"We were really hoping for some positive news from the call between the two leaders," said one trader in Singapore. "It is very difficult to imagine an upside for U.S. soybean prices if China continues to stay away from the market."

Chicago Board of Trade most-active soybeans Sv1 fell 0.4% to $10.20-3/4 a bushel at 1042 GMT, after hitting its lowest since August 12 earlier on Monday.

Wheat Wv1 fell 0.5% to $5.19-3/4 a bushel, corn Cv1 fell 0.1% to $4.24-3/4 a bushel.

Soybeans rose last week on hopes that the Trump-Xi phone call could help restart the soybean trade between the two countries, but the call brought no news about U.S.-China trade in farm commodities.

China, the world's largest soy importer, has stopped buying U.S. soybeans, instead turning to South American supplies.

U.S. corn harvesting is in its early stages, and dealers are monitoring early yield reports to gauge the impact of crop diseases and late-summer dryness that could prompt the USDA to lower its production estimates next month.

Wheat is being weighed down by improving harvest prospects in Australia and globally.

Some background support came from news that big buyer Algeria had issued a purchase tender for wheat after a period of thin demand from big importers. The tender sought a nominal 50,000 metric tons but Algeria often buys considerably more in its tenders than the nominal volume sought.