CHICAGO, March 5 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures slipped on Tuesday, surrendering gains from the previous session as large South American supplies weighed on the market.
Corn and wheat futures also ended lower.
Traders are waiting for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's monthly supply and demand report on Friday to assess the latest estimates on corn and soy production in South America.
Corn and soy prices are hovering near three-year lows.
"We're in a lull right now," said Rich Nelson, chief strategist at brokerage Allendale.
The most-active soybean contract fell 6 cents to finish at $11.49 per bushel. Wheat ended down 13 cents at $5.51 per bushel after setting a contract low of $5.46-1/4. Corn dropped 3-3/4 cents to $4.26-1/4 a bushel.
Tough competition from cheap Black Sea exports and a 3-1/2 year low in European wheat futures contributed to the decline in CBOT wheat, said Terry Reilly, senior agricultural strategist for Marex.
South America's soybean harvests are expected to be bountiful, despite analysts downgrading Brazilian crop forecasts due to adverse weather. Analysts on average expect USDA to lower its estimate for Brazil's harvest to 152.28 million metric tons, a Reuters poll showed.
The large South American supplies are expected to boost global stocks this season and diminish hopes for price recovery, Commerzbank said.
China, the world's biggest soybean importer, sharply expanded its budget to stockpile grains and edible oils this year and stepped up support and policies to boost soybean and grains production.
"This is a bearish issue but not until two to three years from now," Nelson said.
China imported 65,000 metric tons of animal feed corn from Ukraine on Monday, European traders said.
In the U.S., farmers are holding large quantities of corn from last year's harvest, while commodity funds have built up large bets that prices will fall.
"There's a tug of war with funds' holding heavy short positions and farmers sitting long in the country wondering what to do and when to sell," said Tomm Pfitzenmaier, analyst for Summit Commodity Brokerage. (Reporting by Heather Schlitz in Chicago; Additional reporting by Mei Mei Chu in Beijing and Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris; Editing by Eileen Soreng, David Evans and Richard Chang)
