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GRAINS-U.S. soybeans edge higher with drought-hit Argentine crops in focus

Feb 9 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean futures were slightly firmer in choppy Asian trading on Thursday, as traders weighed the impact of dry weather conditions in Argentina while also taking into account a larger-than-expected build in U.S. stockpiles.

Wheat and corn pulled back after advancing in the previous session.

FUNDAMENTALS
The most-active soybean contract Sv1 on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.2% at $15.22-1/4 a bushel, as of 0219 GMT.

CBOT wheat Wv1 dropped 0.2% to $7.63-1/4 a bushel, while corn Cv1 also slipped 0.2% to $6.77-1/2 a bushel.

Soybean harvest in drought-hit Argentina, the world's third-biggest producer of the oilseed, will fall to 41.00 million tonnes, down from 45.50 million tonnes estimated in January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in its latest monthly demand and supply report.

The country's corn harvest was pegged at 47 million tonnes, 5 million lower than the January outlook.

U.S. soybean end stocks were seen at 225 million bushels, up 15 million bushels from the January outlook due to a slower pace of crushing at processing plants in December following unusually bad weather, the USDA said.

The U.S. corn stockpile at the end of the 2022/23 marketing year would likely come in at 1.267 billion bushels, 25 million bushels higher than a month ago, the USDA said.

Analysts had been expecting the USDA report to show U.S. corn stocks of 1.266 billion bushels and soybean stocks of 211 million bushels, according to the average of estimates given in a Reuters poll.

Brazil's food supply and statistics agency Conab on Wednesday cut its forecast for the country's second corn crop, citing delays to soy harvesting.

China became the main destination of Brazilian corn exports in January by volume, surpassing traditional importers such as Japan, Iran and Spain, according to revised trade data released by the government on Wednesday.

Russia said on Wednesday that work to unblock Russian exports under the Black Sea grain deal was unsatisfactory, accusing the European Union of failing to deliver on its promises, the TASS news agency reported.

Ukraine grain exports in the 2022/23 season, which runs through to June, are down 29.2% to 28.2 million tonnes so far, due to a smaller harvest and logistical difficulties caused by the Russian invasion, agriculture ministry data showed on Wednesday.

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

MARKET NEWS
Asian shares tracked Wall Street lower on Thursday, as a number of U.S. Federal Reserve speakers echoed Chair Jerome Powell in saying that interest rates are set to go higher, capping risk sentiment, while the dollar hovered near one-month highs.
By: via Malaysian Palm Oil Council Russia