GRAINS-Soybeans set for second weekly drop on China's absence from US market

SINGAPORE, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Chicago soybeans slid on Friday, with the market on track for a second weekly loss amid a lack of Chinese demand for U.S. cargoes and seasonal pressure from the North American harvest.

Wheat firmed, while corn prices eased.

FUNDAMENTALS

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade Sv1 fell 0.1% to $10.11-1/2 a bushel, as of 0037 GMT, with prices down 1.3% this week.

Wheat Wv1 added 0.1% to $5.27-3/4 a bushel and corn Cv1 fell 0.1% to $4.25-1/2 a bushel. Both wheat and corn are set to end the week higher, having dropped last week.

China's absence from the U.S. soybean market amid a Washington-Beijing trade war is keeping a lid on Chicago futures.

Instead, Chinese buyers booked about 20 cargoes, or roughly 1.3 million metric tons, of Argentine soybeans after Buenos Aires suspended taxes.

Argentina has now reimposed export taxes on grains and their by-products as it hit a target sales cap of $7 billion after suspending them on Monday.

Argentina's declared soy exports for the 2024/25 season hit a seven-year high after a brief pause in export taxes triggered a trading frenzy, which should continue to boost the market as many exporters declared sales before buying the goods.

The advancing U.S. corn and soy harvests have put some supply pressure on prices, though doubts over the size of corn yields has lent support to that market.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported net U.S. soybean export sales were 724,500 tons for 2025/26 in the week that ended on September 18. Analysts expected 600,000 to 1.6 million tons.

Weekly U.S. corn export sales of 1.9 million tons topped analysts' estimates for 1 million to 1.8 million.

Wheat firmed on bargain-buying but ample world supplies are likely to keep a lid on the market.

Australia is on track to reap its third-biggest wheat harvest and its largest-ever barley crop this year, according to a poll of analysts, many of whom have raised their estimates in recent weeks thanks to favourable crop conditions.

MARKET NEWS

MSCI's global equities gauge lost ground while the dollar rose as investors worried that Thursday's surprisingly strong U.S. economic data would make the Federal Reserve more cautious about cutting interest rates. MKTS/GLOB

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

1230 US Consumption, Adjusted MM Aug

1230 US Core PCE Price Index MM, YY Aug

1230 US PCE Price Index MM, YY Aug

1400 US U Mich Sentiment Final Sep