GRAINS-Soy, corn dip on farmer selling; US-China trade talks in focus

By Julie Ingwersen

CHICAGO, Oct 24 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures retreated on Friday from a one-month high, pressured by a round of farmer selling while market players awaited upcoming U.S. trade talks with China, the world's top soybean buyer.

Corn futures fell as the Midwest harvest advanced and wheat futures closed narrowly mixed.

Chicago Board of Trade November soybean futures SX25 settled down 3 cents at $10.41-3/4 per bushel, turning lower after a climb to $10.45-1/2, the contract's highest since September 19.

CBOT December corn CZ25 ended down 4-3/4 cents at $4.23-1/4 per bushel, easing back from a one-month high set on Thursday, and December wheat WZ25 settled down 1/2 cent at $5.12-1/2 a bushel.

Soybeans and corn came under pressure as rallies this week triggered a round of grain sales by producers, analysts said.

"There was a fair amount of cash grain that moved yesterday, so we are seeing some pressure on spreads because of the cash movement. The farmer stepped up and sold a fair amount," said Dan Basse, president of Chicago-based AgResource Co.

Otherwise, trade was subdued as market players awaited news on U.S. trade talks with China, which has shunned U.S. soybeans so far this marketing year in favor of South American supplies.

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet next week with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, with Trump reiterating that soybean purchases will be a major point of discussion.

Top economic officials from the U.S. and China were due to arrive in Malaysia on Friday for talks to prevent a trade war escalation and keep next week's meeting between Trump and Xi on track. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.

A trade deal could help U.S. farmers, but the window for fresh soybean purchases is narrowing.

"If a deal is reached in early November, China could secure shipments for the second half of December or January. Beyond February, however, Brazil's new crop will enter the market," said Ishan Bhanu, lead agricultural commodities analyst at Kpler.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Trade Representative's office said it had launched a new tariff investigation into China's "apparent failure" to comply with the "Phase One" trade deal signed with Trump in 2020 to end his first-term U.S.-China trade war.

China said it firmly opposed what it said were Washington's "false accusations and related investigation measures."