GRAINS-Chicago soybeans hit 15-month high on US-China trade deal hopes

BEIJING/PARIS, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean futures touched a more than 15-month high on Tuesday, driven by prolonged optimism that the U.S. could reach a trade deal with China as leaders from both the countries are expected to meet in South Korea on Thursday.

As of 1212 GMT, the most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 gained 0.8% to $10.94 per bushel, after touching $10.98 a bushel in earlier trade, the highest since July 2024.

Trump said on Monday the U.S. and China were set to "come away with" a trade deal, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told NBC on Sunday that China would make "substantial" soybean purchases under a proposed framework.

"The biggest driver in soy has been the news of potential deal between China and the U.S., which may move more purchases back to the U.S.," said Andrew Whitelaw, an analyst at Australian consultant Episode 3.

"However, we have some trepidation on whether a deal will actually be cemented. At this point, uncertainty is the only certainty."

Stronger soymeal prices SMCV1, up 1.61% as of 0800 GMT, also provided some support to the soybean market, traders said.

"Soymeal prices strengthened over the week, driven by a combination of rising U.S. export offers, tight domestic supply, and weaker crush margins across key origins," said Cheang Kang Wei, vice president at StoneX in Singapore.

Corn Cv1 added 0.47% to $4.30-3/4 a bushel, while wheat Wv1 rose 1.19% to $5.32-1/4 a bushel.

Both markets rose for a second straight session, tracking soy gains, though upside remains limited by abundant global supplies.

Analysts estimated the U.S. corn harvest was 72% finished as of Sunday and the soybean harvest was 84% complete, according to a Reuters poll. Winter wheat planting was seen 84% complete.

In global grain markets, Russian wheat export prices changed little last week, with analysts continuing to raise their forecasts for October shipments.

Across most of the European Union, winter crop sowing is progressing well, although delays are reported in parts of southeastern Europe due to adverse weather, crop monitoring service MARS said on Monday.