GRAINS-Soybean set for third week of gains on Chinese demand prospects

By Naveen Thukral

SINGAPORE, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean futures were largely unchanged on Friday, with the market holding on to recent gains that drove prices to a three-month high this week on expectations of Chinese buying of more U.S. cargoes.

Corn firmed, while wheat was almost flat.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 lost a quarter of a cent to $11.55-3/4 a bushel, as of 0241 GMT, wheat Wv1 added a quarter of a cent to $5.67 a bushel, and corn Cv1 rose 0.1% to $4.26-1/4 a bushel.

"The market is expecting China to buy more U.S. beans, and the U.S. domestic soybean crush is pretty strong. These are supportive factors for prices," said an oilseed trader in Singapore. "But U.S. planting outlook and South American supplies are going to keep pressure on prices."

Soybeans are up about 2% this week, rising for a third week in a row. Corn has given up around 1%, its biggest weekly drop in more than a month, and wheat is up more than 3%, its second week of gains.

The market is expecting China to buy more U.S. soybeans after it returns from the Lunar New Year break next week.

Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump said China was considering making an additional purchase of 8 million metric tons.

In January, the U.S. soybean crush touched a record high for the first month of the year, while soyoil stocks hit their highest since April 2023, according to monthly National Oilseed Processors Association data issued on Tuesday.

However, higher planting is expected to cap the upside.

U.S. farmers will plant more soybeans and less corn in 2026 than last year, although both harvests were expected to be the second-largest on record, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Thursday.

The agency projected corn plantings at 94 million acres this year, down from an 89-year high of 98.8 million acres in 2025. Soybean seedings were expected to rise to 85 million acres, from 81.2 million acres last year.

Global wheat supplies could tighten in the 2026/27 season while corn production may also dip, the International Grains Council said on Thursday.