GRAINS-Soybeans head for modest weekly gain as traders hope China will buy from US
CANBERRA, Oct 10 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures edged lower on Friday but were still set to eke out a second consecutive weekly gain, as traders weighed hopes of renewed Chinese buying from the United States against expectations of ample global supply.
Wheat and corn futures rose slightly but wheat was headed for a fourth straight weekly decline and corn was unchanged over the week, with both markets abundantly supplied.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 was down 0.1% at $10.21-1/4 a bushel at 0551 GMT and up 0.3% from last Friday's close.
Earlier in the week, prices reached $10.30, the highest since September 19.
The United States is midway through a large harvest and top producer Brazil is proceeding rapidly with planting its new crop while exporting huge quantities of the old one.
A Chinese boycott of U.S. beans is also weighing on CBOT prices. President Donald Trump said last week he would raise the issue with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at a meeting later this month, fuelling hopes of a revival in trade.
"There's still plenty of downside there if that meeting doesn't play out in a positive way," said Sean Hickey, an analyst at Bendigo Bank Agribusiness in Australia.
"Growers in the U.S. are not really selling at the moment because they are not happy with the price, but they will have to sell at some point," he said, predicting that the market could fall 5-10% if no U.S.-China deal materialises.
China's expansion of export controls on rare earth metals on Thursday raised doubts that an agreement on soybean purchases would be reached.
Trading has been subdued due to a federal government shutdown. A lack of government data releases on crop production, exports, and investor positioning is making market participants hesitant to take positions.
In other crops, CBOT corn Cv1 was up 0.2% at $4.19 a bushel and unchanged over the week. Wheat Wv1 rose 0.4% to $5.08-3/4 a bushel but was set for a 1.3% weekly loss.
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