GRAINS-Soybeans pull back after setting June 2024 high on Chinese buying

By Tom Polansek

CHICAGO, Nov 18 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures eased on Tuesday after reaching their highest level since June 2024 as China made hefty purchases of American supplies.

Wheat also reached a multi-month high while corn futures edged up.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed China purchased 792,000 metric tons of American soybeans, after traders told Reuters on Monday that Chinese state-owned grain trader COFCO bought around 840,000 metric tons for shipment in December and January.

Soy futures prices pulled back after rallying on Monday.

"Soybean futures were well supported yesterday by the Chinese news," CHS Hedging said in a note.

The most-active soybean contract Sv1 on the Chicago Board of Trade was down 2 cents at $11.55-1/4 a bushel at 12:30 p.m. CST (1830 GMT), after hitting $11.69-1/2 earlier. Prices are up about 13% over the last month.

CHINA HAD SHUNNED SOYBEANS DURING U.S. TRADE WAR

China previously shunned U.S. soybeans during its trade war with Washington and is grappling with a glut after importing cargoes from South America. Monday's purchases were the largest from the U.S. since a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea last month.

The White House said last month that China had agreed to buy 12 million tons of U.S. soybeans this year. China was still far from that target.

However, those large volumes would justify the rally in soybeans in recent weeks, said Dennis Voznesenski, an analyst at Commonwealth Bank in Sydney.

"If China does buy the amount they talked about, that is a lot of soybeans and there is not a lot of time left in the year to buy them," he said.

Meanwhile, a cargo of Argentine soybean meal cleared Chinese customs, two China-based traders said, marking the first such shipment since Beijing approved such imports in 2019 and signalling a new trade channel with the world's top soymeal exporter.

CBOT wheat Wv1 was up 1-1/4 cents at $5.59-3/4 a bushel after rising earlier to $5.63-1/4, the highest since July.

Corn Cv1 rose 1-1/2 cents to $4.36-1/4 a bushel. This was near last week's peak of $4.42-3/4, the highest since June.