GRAINS-Soybeans steady as traders hope for more Chinese buying

CANBERRA/PARIS, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean futures inched up on Tuesday after comments by U.S. President Donald Trump bolstered expectations of further Chinese purchases under a bilateral trade truce.

Wheat and corn edged higher, recovering from losses since late last week. Grain markets also drew support from rising investor expectations for a U.S. interest rate cut next month. MKTS/GLOB

Price movements were modest with uncertainty continuing over the terms of Chinese commitments to buy U.S. farm goods, and traders adjusting positions in the run-up to Thursday's U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, analysts said.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 was up 0.1% at $11.24-3/4 a bushel, as of 1215 GMT. Prices last week reached $11.69-1/2, the highest since June 2024, as a wave of Chinese purchases was confirmed.

Doubts in the market over Chinese purchases reaching 12 million metric tons, cited by Washington as a target for end-December, pushed prices back from that peak. But Trump's comments on Monday, in which he said he had spoken to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping about topics including U.S. farm products, put the focus back on more potential demand.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, meanwhile, said on Monday that the administration expects to announce an aid package for U.S. farmers within two weeks along with a deal on Chinese soybean purchases.

The recent rally has made U.S. beans more expensive than South American supplies, but Chinese state companies are now the captives of that government-to-government agreement and will have to buy despite the higher cost, said Tobin Gorey, founder of consultancy Cornucopia.

"While those captive buyers are there, prices will stay up," he said. "But once the market thinks they are done buying, prices should retreat a little bit to bring in others."

Two cargo vessels were en route to grain terminals near New Orleans on Monday to load with China's first U.S. soybean shipments since May, a shipping schedule showed.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture last week announced China bought nearly 1.6 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans last week, and reported a further 123,000 tons on Monday.

CBOT wheat Wv1 was up 0.3% at $5.36-1/2 a bushel, regaining ground after a four-session fall, while CBOT corn Cv1 rose 0.5% to $4.39 a bushel, steadying after a two-day drop.

Falling Russian prices, harvesting in Argentina and Australia, and results from a Saudi import tender on Monday have kept attention on strong competition in a well-supplied wheat market.