GRAINS-Soybean futures edge up as traders assess Chinese demand

By Tom Polansek

CHICAGO, Nov 21 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures edged up on Friday at the end of a seesaw week during which Chinese purchases of U.S. supplies pushed prices to a 17-month high before doubts about whether China would sustain such buying punctured the rally.

Corn and wheat futures ended nearly unchanged.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture this week confirmed that China bought more than 1.5 million metric tons of American soybeans. Traders said they had expected deals of that size before the USDA reported them, and they had largely factored China's buying into the market already.

"They buy, and it's already behind us," said Don Roose, president of U.S. Commodities in Iowa.

The most-active soybean contract Sv1 on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) closed 2-1/2 cents higher at $11.25 per bushel after falling earlier to a two-week low of $11.13-1/4. On Tuesday, it hit a peak of $11.69-1/2, the highest since June 2024.

China's soybean purchases remain far off the 12 million tons that U.S. officials said it promised to buy by year-end. The U.S. faces tough competition for global export sales from cheaper soybeans in Brazil, analysts said.

Some traders said China could 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 expected the market to remain cautious until volumes are confirmed.

"We wouldn't be surprised if Chinese purchases from the U.S. are closer to a trickle than a flood," said Rod Baker, an analyst at Bendigo Agribusiness Insights.

The USDA reported on Thursday that China also bought 132,000 tons of U.S. white wheat. The deal failed to spark a rally in CBOT wheat futures as global supplies were plentiful, traders said.

CBOT March wheat WH26 slipped 1 cent to close at $5.39-3/4 per bushel and set the lowest price since October 31. CBOT March corn CH26 finished down 1/4 cent at $4.37-1/2 per bushel and reached its lowest level since October 23.