GRAINS-Soybeans steady as traders watch China demand; wheat stays weak

BEIJING/PARIS, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean futures ticked up Tuesday, steadying after a day-earlier drop, as traders continued to assess the pace of Chinese purchases following a trade truce between Beijing and Washington in late October.

Corn also edged higher, underpinned by brisk export demand that pushed prices to a six-month peak on Monday, while wheat extended its fall as bumper southern hemisphere harvests were set to stiffen export competition.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 was up 0.5% at $11.34 a bushel by 1233 GMT.

The White House has said China agreed to buy 12 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans by year-end, though Beijing has not confirmed the target. Uncertainty over the scale of Chinese demand has kept soybean prices in a relatively narrow range since a 17-month high struck in mid-November.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported no new U.S. soybean sales to China on Monday.

"Soybean bulls will be looking for further U.S. export announcements to China to break higher out of the rangebound trade established in November," said Josh Lawrence, advisor at IKON Commodities in Sydney.

Soybeans drew some support from earlier strength in crude oil and firmness across oilseed markets. O/R

Ukrainian drone strikes last week against two oil tankers bound for a Russian port, followed by a drone attack on Tuesday against a Russian-flagged vessel carrying sunflower oil, showed risks to shipping from the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia.

CBOT wheat Wv1 eased 0.7% to $5.31-1/2 a bushel, extending losses into a third session.

"Wheat is under pressure from another round of upgrades to the southern hemisphere crop," Andrey Sizov, head of consultancy Sovecon, said.

In Australia, the government's ABARES agency raised its forecast for the country's 2025/26 wheat production by around 1.8 million tons to 35.6 million tons. That followed recent upward revisions to forecasts of Argentina's crop, which is expected to reach a record volume.

A U.S. push to end the Ukraine-Russia conflict was maintaining background pressure on wheat prices, with talks on Tuesday between a U.S. envoy and Russian President Vladimir Putin keeping attention on the eventuality of a ceasefire, Sizov added.

CBOT corn Cv1 was up 0.3% at $4.46-1/4 a bushel. It rose on Monday to its highest since early June before closing lower.

Weekly U.S. corn export inspections in the latest week reached 1,421,258 metric tons, exceeding expectations of 1,000,000 to 1,250,000 tons.