By Christopher Walljasper

CHICAGO, Nov 6 (Reuters) — Chicago soybean futures slipped on Friday, but held near a four-year high as dry crop weather in top exporter Brazil and strong demand from leading importer China kept the market focused on the prospect of tightening supplies.

Corn and wheat also hovered below recent highs, underpinned by weather risks and Chinese-fueled international demand.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was down 1-3/4 cents at $11.02 a bushel at 11:34 a.m.

(1734 GMT), after reaching its highest since July 2016 at $11.12-3/4 on Thursday.

CBOT corn fell 1-3/4 cents to $4.07-1/2 a bushel, while wheat dropped 5 cents to $6.04-1/4.

Traders were looking ahead to Tuesday’s monthly supply and 우리카지노계열 demand 우리카지노총판 outlook from the U.S.

Department of Agriculture for adjustments to Chinese exports and global harvest prospects.

«Carryout´s starting to get kind of tight,» said Ed Duggan, risk management specialist at Top Third Ag Marketing. «Right now, (the U.S. is) the only game in town.»

The USDA reported sales of 272,150 tonnes of soybeans to unknown destinations and 132,000 tonnes of soybeans to China on Friday, the first Chinese purchase since Oct.

15.

The agency also reported 206,900 tonnes of corn to unknown destinations.

The USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service post in Beijing estimated China’s corn imports in the 2020/21 marketing year at 22 million tonnes, 우리카지노주소 well above the USDA’s official forecast of 7 million tonnes.

Brazil and Argentina has seen rainfall since last month, but market participants remain wary of persisting dryness that could limit South America’s capacity to meet Chinese demand 우리카지노추천 that has already eroded the U.S.

soybean and 우리카지노 corn surplus.

Rising U.S. COVID-19 cases could dampen gains, as states begin reinstating stay-at-home orders to curb spread, traders said.

«COVID is a pretty sizable wet blanket on the corn market,» said Advanced Economic Solutions economist Bill Lapp.

(Reporting by Christopher Walljasper; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore; editing by Jonathan Oatis)