GRAINS-Soybeans up for 5th session, at 7-month high on strong demand

SINGAPORE, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean futures climbed to a seven-month top on Wednesday, gaining for a fifth consecutive session on expectations of strong demand, led by top importer China.

Wheat slid after four sessions of gains, while corn ticked lower, easing from its highest since early Nov.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) rose 0.2% to $15.42-1/4 a bushel, as of 0149 GMT, having climbed earlier in the session to its highest since late June at $15.46 a bushel.

* Wheat gave up 0.5% to $7.48-1/4 a bushel and corn lost 0.2% to $6.84-1/4 a bushel.

* On Tuesday, the soybean and corn markets got a boost after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed private sales of 150,000 tonnes of U.S. corn to Colombia and 119,000 tonnes of soybeans to unknown destinations.

* There was additional support stemming from weekly export inspections data, with the USDA reporting 774,461 tonnes of U.S. corn and 2.075 million tonnes of soybeans inspected for export in the latest week, both above a range of trade expectations.

* China, by far the world's biggest soybean importer, is expected to boost purchases in the months ahead as the country reopens after years of COVID-19 restrictions.

* Urban workers crowded train stations across China's largest cities on Tuesday as travel for Lunar New Year holidays hit high gear, an early sign of economic recovery as officials confirmed a plunge due to COVID-19 curbs.

* In the wheat market, remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin that his country should maintain stocks and not export all its agricultural supplies drew attention to geopolitical risks as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues.

* The Brazilian government believes that it is possible to increase the area planted with grains by 5% each harvest for several years without deforestation, said the Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Favaro, on Tuesday.

* Brazil's 2022/2023 summer grain production will outgrow total storage capacity for the first time in 20 years amid expectations of a record soybean harvest, according to government data obtained by Reuters from Conab, the food supply and statistics agency.

* Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT corn, soybean, wheat, soymeal and soyoil futures contracts on Tuesday, traders said.

MARKET NEWS

* The dollar weakened against the Japanese yen on Tuesday amid expectations of a possible policy shift at the Bank of Japan, while stocks on Wall Street mostly fell following disappointing quarterly results from Goldman Sachs.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0700 UK Core CPI YY Dec 0700 UK CPI YY Dec 1000 EU HICP Final MM, YY Dec 1330 US PPI Machine Manug'ing Dec 1330 US Retail Sales MM Dec 1415 US Industrial Production MM Dec (Reporting by Matthew Chye)

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