SINGAPORE: Chicago soybean futures lost ground on Tuesday, falling for a second straight session with concerns over escalating U.S.-China trade tensions and improved weather in Brazil weighing on the market.
Wheat dropped for fourth session in a row while corn lost more ground.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was down 0.5 percent at $9.18-1/4 a bushel by 0338 GMT, after closing down 0.2 percent on Monday.
Wheat fell 0.2 percent at $5.17-3/4 a bushel, after finishing 0.2 percent lower on Monday and corn lost 0.3 percent to $3.78-3/4 a bushel, after ending the previous session down 0.1 percent.
"The clock is ticking, it is almost February and we haven't seen any significant move to resolve the U.S.-China trade dispute," said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness economist, National Australia Bank.
"In fact, all the news coming out is negative and it is hard for prices to rise in such a situation. If you look at the broader economic data, apart from agriculture, things are negative."
The United States on Monday announced criminal charges against China's Huawei, escalating a fight with the world's biggest telecommunications equipment maker and coming days before trade talks between Washington and Beijing. Huawei did not respond to requests for comment on the charges.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the Huawei charges are "wholly separate" from the trade negotiations.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the United States expects to make significant progress this week in the trade talks with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who will later meet with President Donald Trump.
On Monday, markets got a reminder of the potentially damaging economic impact of the Sino-U.S. trade war as Wall Street stocks were hit by profit warnings.
Weekly U.S. export inspections data added to bearish sentiment in grains and oilseeds markets. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported export inspections of U.S. soybeans in the latest week at 929,417 tonnes and corn inspections at 893,001 tonnes, both down from the previous week and below trade expectations.
Soy industry group Abiove lowered its estimate of Brazil's soybean crop to 117.9 million tonnes, from 120.9 million in December. However, there are some outlooks for improved crop weather.
The USDA plans to release several key grain reports on Feb. 8 including quarterly U.S. grain stocks, winter wheat seedings and a final report on 2018 crop production, the department's chief economist told Reuters via email on Monday.
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