MUMBAI, May 25 (Reuters) - U.S. corn futures extended losses on Wednesday, hovering near a six-week low, as planting picked up pace in the United States and top buyer China allowed corn imports from Brazil.
Soybeans edged higher on lower planting and strong export demand, while wheat was steady as analyst APK-Inform raised its forecasts for Ukraine's 2022/23 crop and exports because of a better-than-expected winter harvest.
The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) eased 0.39% to $7.68-3/4 a bushel, as of 0423 GMT, after falling 1.8% on Tuesday.
China's customs authority signed an agreement with Brazil to allow imports of Brazilian corn, posing a possible threat to U.S. exports.
"The agreement on sanitary guidelines for corn exports will guarantee access to Brazilian grain, a move that could threaten the U.S. dominance in the Chinese corn market," The Hightower Report said in a research note.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Monday that 72% of the U.S. corn crop had been seeded, as of May 22, near the high end of expectations and up from 49% in the prior week.
Wheat was down 0.02% at $11.54-1/2 a bushel and soybeans edged 0.22% higher to $16.96-3/4 a bushel.
Soybean planting was 50% complete by Sunday, the USDA said, up from 30% a week earlier. The figure was ahead of the average analyst estimate of 49%, but behind the five-year average of 55%.
India's move to remove import taxes on soyoil will lift the country's purchases in coming months and will support soybean prices, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trading firm.
India has allowed duty-free imports of 2 million tonnes each of crude soyoil and crude sunflower oil for the current and the next fiscal year to March 2024. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Subhranshu Sahu)
