Wheat rises from 3-year low on bargain hunting; U.S. supplies weigh

SINGAPORE, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat edged higher on Monday, as bargain-hunting supported prices after the market dropped more than 6% in the last session to a three-year low on data pegging U.S. wheat production above expectations.

Soybeans and corn prices lost more ground amid ample global supplies.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) rose 0.5% to $5.44 a bushel, as of 0008 GMT, after dropping on Friday to $5.40 a bushel, their lowest since Sept. 2020.

* Soybeans gave up 0.1% to $12.74-1/4 a bushel and corn gave up 0.1% to $4.76-1/2 a bushel.

* The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated the nation's now completed wheat harvest at 1.812 billion bushels, 78 million bushels bigger than a previous estimate and significantly above the average analyst forecast of 1.729 billion bushels in a Reuters poll.

* Wheat prices had already been under pressure from ample Russian supplies and signals that Ukraine was managing to find export routes despite Russian attacks on port facilities.

* Five more ships are on their way to Ukrainian sea ports using a new corridor opened to resume predominantly agricultural exports, an alternative arrangement to the Black Sea grain deal blocked by Russia, a top Ukrainian official said on Sunday.

* In a separate report, the USDA said U.S. wheat stocks as of Sept. 1 stood at 1.780 billion bushels, up slightly from 1.778 billion bushels reported a year earlier and reflecting poor export demand for U.S. supplies.

* U.S. soybean stocks fell to their lowest in two years, but were larger than analysts expected.

* The USDA's quarterly report showed 1.361 billion bushels of corn, below an average of analysts' estimates for 1.429 billion bushels.

* A key stretch of the lower Mississippi River dropped last week to within inches of its lowest-ever level and is expected to remain near historic lows just as the busiest U.S. grain export season gets underway, according to the National Weather Service.

* Low water has slowed hauling of export-bound corn and soybean barges over recent weeks as shippers lightened loads to prevent vessels from running aground and reduced the number of barges they haul at one time to navigate a narrower shipping channel.

* Elsewhere, India's monsoon rainfall this year was its lowest since 2018 as the El Nino weather pattern made August the driest in more than a century, the state-run weather department said on Saturday.

* Rainfall over the country during June to September was 94% of its long period average, the lowest since 2018, the India Meteorological Department said in a statement.

* Large speculators increased their net short position in CBOT corn futures in the week to Sept. 26, 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 cut their net long position in soybeans.

MARKET NEWS

* MSCI'S global equities ended Friday's choppy session slightly lower as investors prepared for a likely U.S. government shutdown and adjusted portfolios for the quarter's end.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0600 UK Nationwide house price MM, YY Sept 0750 France S&P Global Mfg PMI Sept 0755 Germany HCOB Mfg PMI Sept 0800 EU HCOB Mfg Final PMI Sept 0830 UK S&P GLBL/CIPS Mfg PMI Final Sept 0900 EU Unemployment Rate Aug 1345 US S&P Global Mfg PMI Final Sept 1400 US ISM Manufacturing PMI Sept (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Rashmi Aich)