SYDNEY  - U.S. soybeans edged higher on Tuesday as a widely watched data showed the U.S. crops were lagging behind market expectations following recent adverse weather.

FUNDAMENTALS 

The most active soybean futures on the Chicago Board Of Trade were up 0.2% at $8.99-1/2 a bushel, as of 0036 GMT, having closed down 0.5% on Monday.

The most active corn futures were down 0.3% at $4.42-1/2 a bushel, having gained 0.3% in the previous session when prices hit a high of $4.48 a bushel - the highest since June 28.

The most active wheat futures were down 0.5% at $5.08-1/4 a bushel, having closed up 0.3% on Monday.

The USDA rated 53% of the soybean crop as good-to-excellent, down 1% from last week's report, and behind market forecasts.

Corn saw an increase, with 57% being good-to-excellent, up 1% from last week's report, matching analysts' expectations.

Winter wheat is also up 1% from last week, with the good-to-excellent rating reported at 64%, ahead of market forecasts.

SovEcon and IKAR, the leading agriculture consultancies in Moscow, on Monday downgraded their forecast for Russia's 2019 wheat crop as they continued to assess the negative impact of June's hot, dry weather.

MARKET NEWS 

The dollar traded near a three-week high on Tuesday against its peers, as investors reduced bets on aggressive U.S. interest rate cuts ahead of the Federal Reserve chairman's testimony to Congress on the economy. 

Oil prices steadied on Monday as tensions over Iran's nuclear program countered concerns about whether slowing global economic growth would hit oil demand. 

U.S. stocks fell on Monday as Apple shares dropped following a broker downgrade and investors continued to weigh chances of an aggressive interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve later this month. 

DATA/EVENTS

1245 US  Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell gives opening remarks via satellite before the "Stress Testing: a Discussion and Review" conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in Boston

1400 US JOLTS Job Openings May

(Reporting by Colin Packham, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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