CANBERRA - Chicago soybean futures fell to their lowest levels since October on Tuesday, bogged down by doubts around whether China would buy ‍as many U.S. ‍beans as Washington expects, while traders looked ahead to large South American harvests that will ​keep the market well supplied.

Corn and wheat futures rose after data showed healthy U.S. export demand, but gains ⁠were capped by abundant global supply.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will release a monthly crop supply-demand report ⁠later in ‌the day that could move prices.

 

FUNDAMENTALS

* The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.1% at $10.92-3/4 a bushel at 0143 GMT, with CBOT wheat up ⁠0.3% at $5.36-1/4 a bushel and corn rising 0.1% to $4.44 a bushel.

* Soybeans rallied to a 17-month high of $11.69-1/2 last month after China began to buy again from the United States, but prices have since slipped and on Tuesday moved as low as $10.91-3/4, the weakest since October 30.

* ⁠The USDA confirmed on Monday that ​China, the biggest soy importer, had bought another 132,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans, taking total confirmed sales since late October ‍to nearly 3 million tons.

* But that is far below a target of 12 million tons cited by the U.S. government, ​which on Monday unveiled a $12 billion aid package for American farmers.

* Chinese trade data showed that the country is on track to import a record amount of soybeans this year.

* China has large soybean inventories. State stockpiler Sinograin said on Monday it would auction 512,500 tons beans on Thursday, the first such auction in months. Traders have been watching for big sales that could make room for more U.S. beans.

* Meanwhile, widespread rains in Brazil, the biggest soy producer, bolstered expectations for a large harvest early next year.

* The USDA also in preliminary "baseline" forecasts released on Friday projected that U.S. farmers will expand ⁠soybean plantings in 2026 and reduce seedings of corn and ‌wheat.

* In wheat, Russian export prices rose slightly last week in response to increased demand, with analysts predicting December deliveries to international markets will exceed last year's levels.

MARKETS NEWS

* U.S. Treasury yields and the ‌dollar gained on ⁠Monday as investors prepared for this week's Federal Reserve meeting, with investors widely expecting an interest rate cut, ⁠while major stock indexes were lower.