SINGAPORE, May 10 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean and corn futures eased on Wednesday, weighed down by a fast pace of planting across the U.S. Midwest and an outlook for favourable growing conditions.
Wheat edged higher after closing sharply lower.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) fell 0.1% to $14.13-1/2 a bushel, as of 0008 GMT and corn lost a quarter of a cent to o $5.84-1/2 a bushel.
* Wheat added 0.2% to $6.44-1/2 a bushel.
* The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported corn and soybean planting progress that topped market expectations, with the pace of soybean seeding the second fastest on record.
* Farmers had planted 49% of their corn and 35% of their intended soybean acreage, the agency said.
* There was additional pressure in soybeans stemming from slowing purchases by top importer China.
* China's April imports of soybeans fell 10% from a year earlier, customs data showed on Tuesday, after stricter customs checks delayed cargoes.
* The world's biggest soybean buyer brought in 7.26 million tonnes of the oilseed last month, significantly less than the 9 million tonnes expected by traders.
* The United Nations said inspections resumed on Tuesday of outbound vessels under a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain, which Moscow has threatened to quit on May 18 over obstacles to its own grain and fertilizer exports.
* Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT corn, soybeans, wheat, soymeal and soyoil futures contracts on Tuesday, traders said.
MARKET NEWS
* A gauge of global equities fell on Tuesday as investors grew cautious ahead of key data on U.S. consumer prices, while the impasse over the U.S. debt ceiling sparked a sharp sell-off in short-dated Treasury bills.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT, April) 0600 Germany HICP Final YY 1230 US Core CPI MM, SA; YY, NSA 1230 US CPI MM, SA; YY, NSA 1230 US CPI Wage Earner (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; editing by Uttaresh Venkateshwaran)
