CANBERRA, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Chicago corn and soybean futures regained some ground on Tuesday after data showing strong U.S. production and stockpiles pushed prices to multi-year lows in the previous trading session.
Wheat also rose.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.3% at $12.28-1/4 a bushel by 0205 GMT after slipping to $12.03 on Friday, its lowest since November 2021.
* The U.S. market was closed on Monday for the Martin Luther King Day holiday.
* CBOT corn rose 0.1% to $4.47-1/2 a bushel after hitting $4.41 on Friday, the lowest since December 2020.
* Wheat was up 0.8% at $6.00-3/4 a bushel after falling to a six-week low of $5.87-1/4 on Friday.
* Soybeans had already been falling as rainfall in top producer Brazil improved the supply outlook, and on Friday the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) raised yield numbers for recently harvested U.S. crop and said stocks were slightly higher than analysts had expected.
* Soybeans are now down more than 5% so far this month.
* However, Agribusiness consultancy AgRural on Monday estimated Brazil's 2023/24 soybean crop at 150.1 million metric tons, significantly below the government's forecast of 155.3 million tons.
* Farmer group Aprosoja-MT has also predicted a smaller harvest in Mato Grosso state, a key growing region, than the government, raising concern that the overall crop could be smaller than many analysts currently think.
* In corn markets, a record U.S. harvest and lacklustre U.S. export sales have contributed to growing inventories, with the USDA saying on Friday that U.S. stocks swelled to their highest level since 2018.
* CBOT corn is down just more than 5% this month.
* Wheat supply is also plentiful after a bumper Russian harvest and with the USDA on Friday reporting that U.S. stocks were their highest since 2020.
* Prices have slipped around 4% so far in January but remain clear of last September's three-year low of $5.40 a bushel.
* Export prices for Russian wheat fell slightly last week amid weak global demand, analysts said.
* India should harvest a record 114 million metric tons of wheat this season, its trade minister said, enabling the country to increase stockpiles without importing.
* In Europe, meanwhile, the European Union's eastern states are demanding the bloc impose import duties on Ukrainian grains, citing unfair competition.
* Heavy frosts in Ukraine this month has not harmed winter grain crops, which are in mostly satisfactory condition, government scientists were quoted as saying.
* Speculators are betting on price falls for soybeans, corn and wheat.
MARKETS NEWS
Asian shares dropped to a one-month low, U.S. stock futures fell and the dollar rose on Tuesday as hawkish remarks from central bankers tempered expectations for interest rate cuts. (Reporting by Peter Hobson; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
