GRAINS-Soybeans rise from two-month low, wheat gains for third session

SINGAPORE, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Chicago soybeans edged higher on Monday, as the market took a breather after last week's losses, which pushed prices to their weakest since late October amid uncertainty over demand from top importer China.

Wheat gained more ground on bargain-buying, although ample global supplies are likely to a keep a lid on prices.

FUNDAMENTALS

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 rose 0.1% to $10.50-1/2 a bushel by 0116 GMT, having hit its lowest since October 27 on Friday.

Wheat Wv1 climbed 0.3% to $5.11 per bushel and corn Cv1 gained 0.2% to $4.44-1/2 a bushel.

Uncertainty over when China may meet a target of 12 million metric tons in purchases of U.S. soybeans under a trade truce between Beijing and Washington has dampened the soybean market, particularly in the run-up to what is expected to be another bumper Brazilian harvest in early 2026.

China imported no soybeans from the United States for a third straight month in November, as buyers turned to South American supplies amid fears of a shortfall if the trade war with Washington dragged on.

Following the trade truce in October, China has stepped up purchases of U.S. cargoes, with traders saying that more than 7 million tons have been purchased since then.

On Friday morning, exporters sold 134,000 tons of U.S. soybeans to China, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a daily reporting system.

Large wheat harvests in Argentina and Australia are pouring new supply onto the global market, keeping a lid on prices.

Early prospects for next year's harvests appear favourable, with top exporter Russia projecting a bumper crop of 90 million tons, officials said last week.

Ukrainian farmers had threshed about 56.6 million tons of grain from 93.5% of the sown area, as of December 18, the economy ministry said on Friday. The ministry gave no comparative data.

Large speculators increased their net short position in CBOT corn futures in the week to December 9, regulatory data released on Friday showed.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's weekly commitments of traders report also showed that noncommercial traders, a category that includes hedge funds, increased their net short position in CBOT wheat and cut their net long position in soybeans.

MARKET NEWS

Asian share markets rose on Monday tracking tech-driven gains on Wall Street, while the yen wallowed at all-time lows against the euro and Swiss franc as higher interest rates at home did nothing to deter speculative sellers. MKTS/GLOB

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0700 UK GDP QQ, YY Q3