GRAINS-Soybeans firm ahead of USDA data; weak China demand caps gains

BEIJING, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Chicago soybeans rose on Wednesday ahead of the official U.S. data on global supply and demand on Friday, the first update in weeks, but the absence of large scale purchases by China kept a lid on prices.

Corn prices ticked higher, while wheat slid.

FUNDAMENTALS

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 gained 0.07% to $11.28 a bushel as of 0119 GMT, and corn Cv1 added 0.17% to $4.32-3/4 a bushel. Wheat Wv1 dropped 0.37% to $5.34 a bushel.

China has begun modest purchases of U.S. farm products after the leaders of the two countries met last month, but traders are awaiting major soybean deals after the White House said Beijing had pledged to buy 12 million tons by year-end.

State trader COFCO's oilseed unit said on Monday it has signed agreements to buy over $10 billion worth of Brazilian soybeans, soybean oil, palm oil and other agricultural products. The statement did not mention any U.S. purchases.

Market participants are also waiting for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to update its corn and soybean production and yield estimates in a monthly report on Friday.

A poll of analysts surveyed by Reuters projected that the USDA will lower its U.S. corn yield estimate to 184.0 bushels per acre (bpa) from 186.7 bpa in its previous September 12 forecast.

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

On Tuesday, Thailand's cabinet agreed to ramp up the amount of its corn imports from the U.S. and cut the tariff to zero, an official said.

Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT corn and wheat futures on Tuesday, traders said. COMFUND/CBT

MARKET NEWS

Stocks tiptoed forward at the start of Asian trading as the U.S. Congress looked set to end the federal shutdown and traders looked for direction in the absence of clues from government data services. MKTS/GLOB

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0700 Germany HICP Final YY Oct