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Chicago soybean futures edged higher on Tuesday, rising for the first time in four sessions, with bargain-buying supporting prices, although abundant supplies from the freshly harvested U.S. crop are likely to curb gains.
Wheat and corn were also higher.
"The rapid harvest progress in the U.S. is putting pressure on prices. At the same time, the harvest volume is also high," Commzerbank said in a note.
Improved weather conditions in Brazil for planting next year's crop were also limiting any upside in prices, said one trader in Singapore.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) rose 0.1% to $9.86-1/2 a bushel, as of 1230 GMT, wheat gained 0.6% at $5.62-1/2 a bushel, while corn gained 0.1% to $4.11-1/4 a bushel.
U.S. farmers have been harvesting the record-large 2024 soybean crop and the near-record corn crop at the fastest pace in over a decade, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's weekly crop progress report showed on Monday.
The USDA pegged the soybean harvest at 89% complete as of Sunday, slightly below analysts' expectations of 91%, while the corn harvest is 81% finished, above analysts' expectations of 80%.
Brazil's soybean planting for the 2024/25 season had reached 36% of the total expected area as of Oct. 24, agribusiness consultancy AgRural said on Monday, up 18 percentage points from the previous week as weather conditions improved.
In the wheat market, the U.S. winter wheat crop is in much worse shape than industry participants thought, but a break could be coming as ample rains are slated for the central portion of the country over the next several days.
Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT corn, wheat, soybeans, soyoil and soymeal futures contracts on Monday, traders said.
(Reporting by Naveen Thukral and Sybille de La Hamaide; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Sumana Nandy and Tasim Zahid)