SINGAPORE - Chicago soybean futures rose for a second session on Thursday with prices supported by adverse weather in South America though concerns over a prolonged trade war between Washington and Beijing curbed gains.

Wheat ticked lower, while corn gained for a second session.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade was up 0.3 percent at $8.96-3/4 a bushel, as of 0255 GMT. In the previous session, prices had hit $8.91-1/4 a bushel, their lowest since Dec 28, 2018.

Wheat slipped 0.2 percent to $5.11-1/2 a bushel, having closed 0.3 percent firmer on Wednesday and corn climbed 0.1 percent to $3.74-1/2 a bushel, having gained 0.7 percent in the previous session.

"Brazil's crop forecasts are being lowered, which is supporting prices but we don't expect the market to rally as U.S-China trade war is weighing on the sentiment," said one Singapore-based trader.

Brazilian agribusiness consultancy Céleres on Wednesday cut its soy harvest forecast for the country due to drought, but the 117.2-million-tonne estimate is largely in line with other analysts.

Thomson Reuters Agriculture Research on Wednesday lowered its forecast of Brazil's ongoing harvest by 2 percent to 118 million tonnes, joining other crop watchers in factoring in the impact of dryness on yields.

In Argentina, there are worries about excessive rains. Concerns over a prolonged trade war between Washington and Beijing are weighing on agricultural markets.

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced bills on Wednesday that would ban the sale of U.S. chips or other components to Huawei Technologies Co Ltd or other Chinese telecommunications companies that violate U.S. sanctions or export control laws.

This could prolong the trade war between the two countries.

Russia's Agriculture Ministry said on Wednesday it was not discussing imposing any limits on grain exports abroad, RIA news agency reported. The ministry said earlier on Wednesday it expected a grain harvest of 114.3 million tonnes this year.

Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT corn, wheat and soymeal futures contracts on Wednesday and net sellers of soybeans, traders said.    

(Reporting by Naveen Thukral, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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