GRAINS-Chicago wheat falls on ample global supply; soy, corn extend gains

BEIJING, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat futures fell on Tuesday, pressured by ample global supply, while traders continued to monitor escalating war tensions in the Black Sea region.

Soybeans and corn extended gains for a second consecutive session, with corn supported by steady export demand.

FUNDAMENTALS

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Wv1 lost 0.05% to $5.12-1/4 a bushel by 0135 GMT. Corn Cv1 rose 0.22% to $4.45-1/2 a bushel.

CBOT soybeans Sv1 climbed 0.14% to $10.63-1/2 a bushel.

In Brazil, the world's top soybean exporter, production is expected to reach a record 177.6 million metric tons in 2025-26, StoneX said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday said net U.S. corn export sales fell to 756,419 tons in the week ended December 25, the lowest for any week since early September. Net U.S. soybean sales rose in that same period to 1,244,136 tons, up 27% from a week earlier.

Separately, 1.2 million tons of U.S. corn were inspected for export in the week ending January 1, the USDA said.

The wheat market remained weighed down by abundant global supplies as Argentina and Australia wrapped up bumper harvests. Traders continued to watch developments in the Black Sea grain export zone.

On Monday, Russia launched five missile strikes on Ukraine's Kharkiv, damaging energy infrastructure, and attacked an enterprise owned by U.S. agricultural producer Bunge BG.N in the southeastern city of Dnipro, Ukrainian officials said.

Ukrainian exports exports of key agricultural commodities fell to 3.28 million metric tons in December from 3.58 million tons in November, primarily due to smaller shipments of wheat and soybeans, the traders' union UGA said on Monday.

The USDA is scheduled to issue key crop data on January 12, including U.S. grain and soybean stocks as of December 1.

Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT grains and soy, traders said on Monday. CBOT/FUNDS

MARKET NEWS

Major stock indexes and oil prices gained on Monday, with energy shares climbing and investors reacting mostly calmly to potential market ramifications after a U.S. military strike that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.MKTS/GLOB