SINGAPORE: Chicago soybeans edged higher on Tuesday, although gains were limited by forecasts calling for much-needed rains in dry areas of South America.

Corn gained ground, while wheat eased as traders squared positions ahead of key supply-demand and stocks reports from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) due on Wednesday.

The Chicago Board of Trade's (CBOT) most-active soybean contract rose 0.1% to $13.86-3/4 a bushel, as of 0347 GMT. Corn added 0.3% to $6.01-1/2 a bushel and wheat fell 0.1% to $7.61-1/2 a bushel.

The soybean market is under pressure from forecasts for beneficial moisture in the six- to 10-day period in drought-hit areas of southern Brazil and Argentina.

Dry weather has threatened crop prospects in those areas, prompting several private analysts last week to slash their projections for Brazil's soybean harvest.

Brazilian soybean farmers have started to reap their crop in the states of Parana and Mato Grosso, with an overall 0.2% of the country's planted area already harvested, according to agribusiness consultancy AgRural on Monday.

Ukraine has exported 33.5 million tonnes of grain so far in the 2021/22 July-June season, up 23.2% from the same stage a season earlier, agriculture ministry data showed on Monday.

Ahead of the USDA's reports, analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expect the government to report the tightest US Dec. 1 wheat stocks since 2007, and the largest US winter wheat seedings since 2016.

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