CANBERRA, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean futures inched higher on Wednesday helped by U.S. export sales, rising crude oil prices and worries over production in top exporter Brazil.
Wheat and corn futures were little changed.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.2% at $13.15-1/2 a bushel by 0135 GMT, while CBOT corn rose 0.1% to $4.73-1/4 a bushel and wheat was flat at $6.23 a bushel.
* Soybeans fell 1.1% on Tuesday as weather forecasts suggested that key cropping areas in Brazil would get some much-needed rainfall in the coming days.
* But analysts have been downgrading their forecasts for Brazil's harvest in recent weeks and a farm survey on Tuesday suggested that heat waves and scarce rainfall in Mato Grosso, the biggest grain state, would see soybean production there fall by more than 9 million metric tons to 36.15 million tons in the 2023/24 season.
* That said, Brazil's exports are currently running strong, surpassing 100 million tons already this year. The country is forecast to ship 3.5 million tons of soybeans in December, up from 1.52 million in December 2022.
* In the United States, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed that exporters sold 132,000 tons of U.S. soybeans to unknown destinations, the latest in a flurry of sales that have supported prices.
* Also helping the market is a rise in oil prices towards $80 a barrel. Higher crude prices put upward pressure on the market for ethanol, which can be made from soy.
* Chicago soybeans have slipped from above $15 a bushel at the start of the year but recovered from a two-year low of $12.51 in October.
* Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT soybean and corn futures and net buyers of wheat futures on Tuesday, traders said.
* Trade routes have been disrupted by attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and off the coast of Somalia, with the United States launching a multinational operation to safeguard commerce.
* In the wheat market, Egypt's state grains buyer said it bought 480,000 metric tons of Russian wheat in an international tender.
* The tender underscored how much supply is still available from Russia. Cheap Russian shipments drove CBOT futures to a three-year low of $5.40 in September.
* Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister meanwhile said that 10 million metric tons of products have been exported to 24 countries through its alternative Black Sea corridor.
MARKETS NEWS
The U.S. dollar rose against the yen on Tuesday after the Bank of Japan kept rates steady while MSCI's global stock index was gaining ground as investors focused on the prospect of U.S. interest rate cuts in 2024.
(Reporting by Peter Hobson; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
