GRAINS-Soybeans ease after rally, market eyes Chinese purchases

SINGAPORE, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Chicago soybeans slid for the first time in three sessions on Tuesday, as the market came under pressure amid a lack of large-scale purchases by China, the world's biggest importer of the oilseed, despite earlier announcements from officials in Washington.

Corn prices slid, while wheat ticked higher.

FUNDAMENTALS

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 fell 0.2% to $11.28-1/4 a bushel, as of 0108 GMT, and corn Cv1 gave up 0.2% to $4.28-3/4 a bushel. Wheat Wv1 added 0.1% to $5.36 a bushel.

China has begun modest purchases of U.S. farm products after meeting of leaders of both countries, but traders still await significant soybean buys after the White House said Beijing pledged to buy 12 million tons by year-end.

U.S. harvest of soybeans and corn was nearly complete as of Sunday, with soybean harvest 96% complete and the corn harvest 92% finished, according to a Reuters poll of nine analysts.

Market players were also adjusting positions ahead of crop supply/demand reports due on Friday from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that will include the agency's first U.S. and global crop estimates since mid-September.

In a poll released after the close of the CBOT, analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expected the USDA to lower its U.S. corn yield estimate to 184.0 bushels per acre (bpa), from 186.7 in its last estimate released on September 12.

Analysts pegged the U.S. soybean yield at 53.1 bpa, below USDA's September 12 estimate of 53.5 bpa.

MARKET NEWS

MSCI's global equities gauge rallied 1.4% on Monday while government bond yields rose modestly on bets the record-long U.S. government shutdown will soon end, enabling official data releases to resume to provide much-needed clarity on the state of the economy. MKTS/GLOB

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0700 UK Claimant Court Unem Chng Oct

0700 UK ILO Unemployment Rate Sep

0700 UK HMRC Payrolls Change Oct

1000 Germany ZEW Economic Sentiment Nov

1000 Germany ZEW Current Conditions Nov