GRAINS-Soybeans recoup on bargain-buying; wheat, corn drop on crude weakness

SINGAPORE, May 6 (Reuters) - Soybeans inched higher on Wednesday on bargain-buying, recouping some losses from the previous session, while wheat and corn slid as lower crude oil prices pressured grains and oilseed markets.

Concerns, however, over drought damage to the U.S. winter wheat crop from a severe drought limited the downside in prices.

FUNDAMENTALS

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 was up 0.1% at $12.12-1/2 a bushel, as of 0006 GMT, having dropped around 1% in the previous session.

Corn Cv1 lost 0.3% to $4.78-3/4 a bushel and wheat Wv1 edged 0.1% lower to $6.27 a bushel.

U.S. oil futures fell on Wednesday morning by more than $2 after U.S. President Donald Trump said an operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz will be paused for a short period to see whether an agreement can be finalised and signed. O/R

War-driven fluctuations in oil prices have influenced grain markets, as corn and soybean oil are widely used for biofuel production.

Forecasts of rain in some U.S. wheat zones this week also curbed wheat prices, though the precipitation may come too late for areas where drought has done irreversible damage, traders said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's weekly report said 31% of the nation's winter wheat crop was in good to excellent condition, up from 30% last week but still the lowest for this time of the year since 2023.

A group of Oklahoma crop experts on Tuesday projected Oklahoma's 2026 winter wheat harvest at 47.799 million bushels, with an average yield of 23.11 bushels per acre, following an annual tour of the state, said Mike Schulte, executive director of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission.

The estimates were sharply lower than the 10-year yield average of 94.499 million bushels in Oklahoma, among the top U.S. wheat-producing states.

MARKET NEWS

U.S. and global stocks jumped on Tuesday, taking heart from a series of robust earnings, while oil prices eased despite still-simmering hostilities between the U.S. and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz. MKTS/GLOB

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0145 China RatingDog Services PMI April

0750 France HCOB Services, Composite PMI April

0755 Germany HCOB Services, Composite Final PMI April

0800 EU HCOB Services Final, Composite Final PMI April

0830 UK S&P Global PMI: Composite - Output April

0830 UK Reserve Assets Total April