GRAINS-Soybeans ease further on doubts over Chinese demand

CANBERRA/PARIS, Nov 21 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures edged lower on Friday at the end of a see-saw week during which Chinese purchases of U.S. beans pushed prices to a 17-month high before doubts about whether China would sustain such buying punctured the rally.

Corn and wheat futures also fell, with the absence of significant Chinese purchases of cereals keeping attention on comfortable global supply.

Weakness in share prices, as investors worried about tech valuations and U.S. interest rates, and in oil prices amid a U.S. push to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, added pressure on grains. MKTS/GLOB

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 was down 0.3% at $11.18-3/4 a bushel at 1314 GMT, moving further back from Tuesday's peak of $11.69-1/2, the highest since June 2024.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday confirmed that China this week bought more than 1.5 million metric tons of soybeans and 132,000 tons of U.S. white wheat.

However, China's soybean purchases remain far off the 12 million tons that U.S. officials said it promised to buy by year-end.

"U.S. beans are now priced higher than Brazilian beans," said Rod Baker, an analyst at Bendigo Agribusiness Insights.

"We wouldn't be surprised if Chinese purchases from the U.S. are closer to a trickle than a flood," he said.

Some traders see scope for China to bear the cost of making larger purchases of U.S. soybeans, in order to preserve the trade truce agreed with Washington in late October, but expect the market to remain cautious until volumes are confirmed.

The small volume of wheat sold to China failed to push wheat prices higher, with traders seeing significant sales of sorghum more likely on the cereal side.

CBOT wheat Wv1 slipped 0.7% to $5.37-1/4 a bushel, retreating further from a 4-1/2-month peak on Tuesday.

CBOT corn Cv1 was down 0.3% at $4.36-1/2 a bushel.

The International Grains Council on Thursday raised its forecasts for 2025/26 global wheat and corn production. It trimmed its soybean harvest estimate but still expects the second-largest crop on record.

Consultants Sovecon meanwhile raised their 2025 Russian wheat production forecast.