Wheat rises on short-covering, China optimism, but set for monthly loss

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Hope China easing COVID-19 rules buoys commodities

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Wheat lifted by short-covering but down nearly 10% in November

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Soybeans rise on fresh China sales, corn down on export concerns

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat rose for a second straight session on Wednesday, supported by end-of-the-month short-covering and investor hopes that China will loosen COVID-19 rules, although the grain was poised to decline in November on competition from Black Sea supplies.

Soybeans also ticked up, touching a two-month peak, as optimism that China will ease restrictions that have triggered rare public protests boosted expectations for demand in the massive commodity importer.

U.S. exporters sold 136,000 tonnes of soybeans for delivery to China during 2022/23, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

Gains were limited as participants looked ahead to a speech by the U.S. Federal Reserve chief later on Wednesday.

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 1.9% at $7.96-1/2 a bushel by 11:23 a.m. CST (5:23 p.m. GMT).

"What we're seeing in wheat more than anything is month-end position squaring," said Agrivisor market analyst Karl Setzer, adding that Chicago wheat looks technically oversold.

Concerns about dry conditions harming U.S. and Argentine wheat crops are mostly offset by a bumper Canadian harvest and improving Australian crop, Setzer said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in its last weekly crop progress report for 2022, on Tuesday rated 34% of U.S. winter wheat in good to excellent condition, up 2 percentage points from the previous week but still the weakest score for this time of year in a decade.

CBOT soybeans added 0.9% to $14.72-3/4 a bushel.

Corn dropped 0.4% to $6.67 a bushel on concerns about export demand and weighed down by profit-taking by funds holding long positions, Setzer said.

For the month, wheat is down nearly 10%, soybeans have added nearly 4% and corn has lost 3.5%.

Guangzhou on Wednesday relaxed COVID prevention rules in several districts, a move that followed protests in the southern Chinese city.

Cheap supplies from Russia and elsewhere in the Black Sea region were keeping a lid on wheat futures by maintaining competition for U.S. exports. (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Maju Samuel and Mark Porter)