GRAINS-US soybean futures inch higher on China trade optimism

CHICAGO, Oct 22 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures closed mostly higher on Wednesday as traders remained hopeful for progress in upcoming trade talks with top soy buyer China, analysts said.

News of a Japanese proposal to increase U.S. soy purchases lent support as well.

Corn and wheat futures rose but remained range-bound as market players awaited fresh direction.

Chicago Board of Trade November soybean futures SX25 settled up 4 cents at $10.34-3/4 per bushel.

CBOT December corn CZ24 settled up 3-1/4 cents at $4.23 per bushel and December wheat WZ25 finished up 3-1/2 cents at $5.03-3/4 a bushel.

Markets are focused on a key meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea next week. Trump has said he wants a "fair deal" and has repeatedly called for China to resume purchases of U.S. soybeans.

"We don't know if anything will come of it," Sherman Newlin, broker at Risk Management Commodities, said of the upcoming U.S.-China meeting. "With the (U.S.) government shutdown as well, there is nothing to go on. The market is in limbo."

Currently, there are no new sales of U.S. soybeans to China and nothing is expected to be loaded in coming weeks, according to U.S. soy industry groups, including the American Soybean Association and the U.S. Soybean Export Council.

Separately, Japan's new government is finalising a purchase package, including U.S. pickups, soybeans and gas, to present to Trump in trade and security talks next week, two sources told Reuters.

Looking ahead, Brazilian oilseed group Abiove projected the South American country's 2025/26 soybean harvest at a record-high 178.5 million metric tons, up from 171.8 million a year earlier. The crop will be harvested in early 2026.

Corn futures inched higher. However, as the U.S. corn harvest progresses, CBOT December corn CZ25 has been stuck in a trading range between roughly $4.09 and $4.25 per bushel throughout October.

Grain traders had little reaction to a plunge in cattle futures after Trump said ranchers needed to lower prices. Trump has sought to reduce beef prices that reached records this year due to tight cattle supplies and strong consumer demand.

CBOT December wheat futures firmed but continued to hover near contract lows set last week, anchored by plentiful global wheat supplies.