GRAINS-Soybeans ease after rally, market awaits more Chinese purchases

By Naveen Thukral and Michael Hogan

SINGAPORE/HAMBURG, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Chicago soybeans fell 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 U.S. officials.

Corn and wheat also dropped with a positive picture assessed of U.S. harvesting and planting, while dealers awaited official U.S. world supply and demand data on Friday for the first time in weeks following the U.S. government shutdown.

"We have yet to see China make big soybean purchases from the U.S.," said one Singapore-based trader. "Prices are expected to remain under pressure."

Chicago Board of Trade most-active soybeans Sv1 fell 0.3% to $11.26-3/4 a bushel at 1101 GMT. Corn Cv1 fell 0.1% to $4.29-1/4 a bushel, wheat Wv1 fell 0.09% to $5.35-1/4 a bushel.

China started modest purchases of U.S. farm products after a meeting of leaders of both countries, but traders still await more significant soybean buying after the White House said Beijing pledged to buy 12 million tons by the end of 2025.

U.S. harvest of soybeans and corn was nearly complete on Sunday, with soybean harvesting 96% finished and the corn crop 92% complete, said a Reuters poll of analysts.

Market players were also adjusting positions ahead of world crop supply/demand reports due on Friday from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that will include the agency's first U.S. and global crop estimates since September because of the U.S. government shutdown.

"Markets have been trading blind without the usual extremely accurate input of data from the USDA so the expected report on Friday could provide a new basis for orientation," one German trader said. "Generally, U.S. harvesting looks like finishing and now the crop yields are being assessed."

A poll of 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.