SINGAPORE, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Chicago soybeans rose for the first time in three sessions on Monday with bargain-buying underpinning prices, although ample old-crop supplies and improved weather in top exporter Brazil limited the upside potential of the market.
Corn firmed after last week's losses, while wheat lost ground.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) rose 0.2% to $12.59 a bushel, as of 0107 GMT. The market is trading close to last session's lowest since mid-Oct.
* Corn added 0.2% to $4.61-3/4 a bushel and wheat lost 0.5% to $6.13 a bushel.
* Soybean futures are facing headwinds as rains have reduced concerns about crop losses in Brazil, the world's biggest exporter of the oilseed.
* U.S. exporters are likely to face stiff competition from Brazil in the soybean market this year.
* Brazilian soybean exports will reach at least 1.3 million metric tons in January, a sharp increase from the 940,000 tons exported in the same month last year, according to projections released on Friday by Anec, a grain exporters group.
* The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported on Friday export sales of U.S. 2023/24 soybeans in the week ended Dec. 28 were 201,600 metric tons, below analysts' expectations for 500,000 to 1,300,000 tons. Weekly U.S. corn and wheat sales also missed expectations.
* This week, the USDA is slated to issue a quarterly U.S. grain stocks report and monthly data on global supply/demand.
* In news on easing concerns over global food price inflation, the United Nations food agency's world price index ended last year about 10% below its 2022, with values in December also down from the previous month.
* The Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 118.5 points in December, down 1.5% from November and 10.1% below December 2022 levels.
* Large speculators increased their net short position in CBOT corn futures in the week to Jan. 2, regulatory data released on Friday showed.
* The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's weekly commitments of traders report also showed that noncommercial traders, a category that includes hedge funds, increased their net short position in CBOT wheat and increased their net short position in soybeans.
MARKET NEWS
* Asian shares started in a muted mood after Wall Street snapped its winning streak, while investors braced for U.S. inflation data and a corporate reporting season where good results are needed to justify high stock valuations.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0700 Germany Industrial Orders MM Nov 0700 Germany Manufacturing O/P Cur Price SA Nov 0700 Germany Consumer Goods SA Nov 0745 France Reserve Assets Total Dec 1000 EU Unemployment Rate Nov (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
