GRAINS-U.S. soy sags as Brazil's harvest looms; wheat mixed, corn ends firm

(Updates with closing U.S. prices) By Julie Ingwersen CHICAGO, Feb 1 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures fell about 1% on Wednesday as traders focused on the expanding harvest of a likely record-large soy crop in Brazil and positioned for the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates, analysts said. Wheat futures ended mixed, with the most-active March contract down on profit-taking, while corn prices turned higher late in the session. Chicago Board of Trade March soybeans settled down 17-3/4 cents at $15.20-1/4 per bushel. CBOT March wheat ended down 1-1/2 cents at $7.59-3/4 a bushel while March corn finished up 1-1/4 cents at $6.81 a bushel. Soybeans turned lower on expectations of a bumper harvest in Brazil, the world's biggest exporter of the oilseed. Brokerage StoneX raised its forecast of the Brazilian soy crop to a record-high 154.2 million tonnes, from 153.79 million last month. The harvest is under way and about 5% complete despite rain delays in some areas, consultancy AgRural said on Monday.

"Brazil's harvest continues to accelerate. We (U.S. soy suppliers) are not competitive," said Don Roose, president of Iowa-based U.S. Commodities. Expectations for the massive Brazilian crop overshadowed concerns about the size of Argentina's drought-hit harvest, Roose said. CBOT soy futures had early support after a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's attache in Buenos Aires on Tuesday slashed its unofficial estimate of the Argentine soy crop to 36 million tonnes, well below the USDA's official forecast of 45.5 million. "We have got a lot of bullish news (already) dialed in with the Argentine crop loss. Will we see a lower number than the attache? I don't think so," Roose said.

Front-month CBOT March wheat ended lower, pausing a day after climbing to a four-week peak, while deferred wheat contracts closed steady to higher. European wheat prices fell, pressured by cheap prices offered by Black Sea exporters in North Africa and the Middle East. Just before the CBOT close, the Federal Reserve raised its target interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, as was widely expected, and promised "ongoing increases" in borrowing costs as part of its battle against inflation. (Reporting by Julie Ingwersen in Chicago Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Matthew Chye in Singapore; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Matthew Lewis and Himani Sarkar)

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Reuters

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GRAINS-U.S. soy sags as Brazil's harvest looms; wheat mixed, corn ends firm