Aug 17 (Reuters) - Chicago soybeans rose during Asian trading on Thursday, as uncertainty about the size of the upcoming U.S. harvest and concerns over tight domestic supplies supported prices.
Corn was slightly lower while wheat was steady ahead of the U.S. weekly export sales report to be released later in the day.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.5% at $13.29-1/2 a bushel, as of 0221 GMT.
* Corn lost 0.1% to $4.81 a bushel, though still above the 32-month low hit in the previous session.
* Wheat was unchanged at $6.23 a bushel.
* Rains toward the end of the month will limit crop stress in the Midwest following an upcoming hot and dry spell, Commodity Weather Group said.
* The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expected to report weekly U.S. soybean export sales of zero to 400,000 metric tons for 2022-23 and 550,000 to 1.3 million metric tons for 2023-24, analysts said.
* The USDA is expected to report weekly corn export sales of zero to 250,000 metric tons for 2022-23 and 500,000 to 1 million metric tons for 2023-24, analysts said.
* The USDA is expected to report weekly U.S. wheat export sales of 200,000 to 525,000 metric tons for 2023-24, analysts said.
* Russian drone strikes damaged grain silos and warehouses at the Ukrainian river port of Reni on the Danube, a vital wartime route for Ukrainian food exports, senior officials said on Wednesday.
* Soft wheat exports from the European Union so far in the 2023/24 season had reached 3.72 million metric tons by Aug. 13, down 11% from 4.19 million a year earlier, data published by the European Commission showed on Wednesday.
* Brazilian food and fuel processor Caramuru Alimentos, one of the country's largest grain crushers, said on Wednesday it had started selling soybean-based ethanol at one of its plants in center-western Brazil.
* China has called for more measures to protect its crops after warning that the recent floods in its grain-producing northeast region could worsen diseases and infestations.
* Commodity funds were net buyers of Chicago Board of Trade corn, wheat, soybean, soymeal and soyoil futures contracts on Wednesday, traders said.
MARKET NEWS
* Asian shares slid to nine-month lows, while the dollar was at two-month peak as fears over China's sluggish economic recovery and concerns that the Federal Reserve may still raise interest rates rattled investors.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0900 EU Total Trade Balance SA June
1230 US Initial Jobless Clm Weekly
1230 US Philly Fed Business Indx Aug
(Reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz in Manila; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
