CHICAGO, Jan 31 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat futures fell nearly 2% on Wednesday, retreating after a day earlier rally, while corn and soybeans also sagged as market players sought fresh direction, analysts said.

By 12:35 p.m. CST (1835 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) March wheat was down 10-3/4 cents at $5.94-3/4 per bushel, but stayed inside the previous day's trading range.

CBOT March corn was down 1 cent at $4.46-3/4 a bushel and March soybeans were down 3/4 cent at $12.18 a bushel.

"Fresh news is largely lacking today, leaving traders to focus on their risk exposure. For now, that means general weakness, although we've seen some markets drift higher," StoneX chief commodities economist Arlan Suderman said in a client note.

The Federal Reserve was scheduled to conclude a two-day policy meeting near the close of the CBOT on Wednesday, and traders are also waiting for weekly U.S. export sales data due on Thursday from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

CBOT wheat fell as Euronext wheat futures hit contract lows, pressured by sluggish export demand and stiff competition from Russian supplies. Looking ahead, Russia will increase the area for the 2024 harvest by 300,000 hectares to 84.5 million hectares, the country's agriculture minister said.

Soybeans and corn had bounced on Tuesday after hitting two- and three-year lows, respectively, with support from a rally in crude oil and covering by investors holding a large short position.

But oil and other commodity markets were pressured on Wednesday after data showed China's manufacturing activity contracted for a fourth straight month in January.

Uncertainty over Chinese imports has added to price pressure from favourable harvest prospects in South America, which competes with the United States in export markets.

Rabobank said "yield-boosting South American rainfall (for corn and soy), Chinese demand headwinds and a good production outlook for U.S. and Russian wheat" were weighing on prices.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said weekly production of corn-based ethanol rose in the latest week to 991,000 barrels per day while stockpiles fell to 24.270 million barrels, a three-week low. (Reporting by Julie Ingwersen; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Peter Hobson in Canberra; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)