* Hopes of ample supplies, poor demand cap gains in soybeans
* Argentine strike disrupts shipments at key soybean ports

By Naveen Thukral and Sybille de La Hamaide
       SINGAPORE/PARIS, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat rose on
Thursday on renewed signs of weather damage sharply lowering
crops in the European Union, a major exporter, while soybeans
were flat, torn between bargain-buying and pressure from
favourable U.S. crop conditions.
    The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade
(CBOT) added 0.8% to 5.42-1/2 a bushel as of 1120 GMT.
Soybeans were was unchanged at $10.18-3/4 a bushel while
corn fell 0.1% to $4.00-1/2 a bushel.
    "Big exporters like Russia have hefty crops but there is a
sharp drop in EU output which has maybe not been fully priced
in," a French trader said.
    Consultancy Strategie Grains slashed its monthly forecast
for European Union soft wheat output and exports to its lowest
in six years, citing worse than expected yields in rain-hit
France and Germany.
    The consultancy's projection for the EU's main cereal crop
was reduced to 116.5 million metric tons, down from the 122.3
million tons forecast in July and now 8.4% below last season's
crop. Exports were expected at 25.6 million tons, down 27% from
last year and the lowest since 1986.
    Market participants also said they were closely following
news from Egypt's state grains buyer, the General Authority for
Supply Commodities, which announced a massive international
tender for 3.8 million metric tons, the largest on record. Egypt
typically imports most of its grain from Russia, which made up
nearly 70% of all its wheat imports in 2023.
    The soybean market has faced headwinds amid favourable
growing conditions in the Midwest at a time when China has
reduced its purchases from the United States.
    China's soybean imports rose 2.9% in July from a year
earlier, spurred by lower prices and fears of heightened trade
tensions between Beijing and the U.S. if Donald Trump returns as
president.
    The country has bought larger volumes from Brazil and it is
now facing an oversupply of beans amid subdued animal feed
demand.
    A labour strike launched by oilseed industry unions in
Argentina, a major soyoil and soymeal exporter, has halted
shipments from ports that host processing plants.
    Cooler-than-expected temperatures in Argentina next week
could trigger frosts and damage crops, the Buenos Aires Grains
Exchange said on Wednesday.
    Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT corn, wheat,
soybean and soymeal futures contracts on Wednesday, traders
said. Funds were net buyers of CBOT soyoil futures, they said.
   
    
    
 Prices at 1120 GMT                                      
                              Last         Change     Pct
                                                     Move
  CBOT wheat                542.50           4.25    0.79
  CBOT corn                 400.50          -0.25   -0.06
  CBOT soy                 1018.75           0.00    0.00
  Paris wheat               216.75           1.50    0.70
  Paris maize               203.25          -0.50   -0.25
  Paris rapeseed            463.50           3.50    0.76
                                                   
  WTI crude oil              75.31           0.08    0.11
                                                   
  Euro/dlr                    1.09           0.00    0.05
 Most active contracts - Wheat, corn and soy US
 cents/bushel, Paris futures in euros per tonne
 
 (Reporting by Naveen Thukral and Sybille de La Hamaide; Editing
by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Tomasz Janowski)