GRAINS-Chicago soy, corn, wheat slip as traders brace for US tariffs

BEIJING, April 1 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean and corn futures fell on Tuesday ahead of the U.S. reciprocal tariff announcement, which could disrupt markets and prompt retaliatory moves against U.S. farm goods.

Wheat eased despite support from a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report showing lower-than-expected plantings, as favourable weather and a U.S.-backed ceasefire weighed on prices.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) dropped 0.15% to $10.13 a bushel as of 0037 GMT. Corn slipped 0.11% to $4.57 a bushel.

* The wheat contract shed 0.47% to $5.35 a bushel.

* The USDA report held few surprises, but traders await U.S. President Donald Trump's upcoming reciprocal tariffs, which apply to all nations, raising concerns about reduced demand for U.S. farm exports.

* The USDA's report showed soybean acreage near expectation but higher-than-expected stocks. Corn planting exceeded estimates, while U.S. corn stocks aligned with expectations. Lower-than-expected acreage underpinned wheat.

* Brazil's soybean harvest for the 2024-25 season reached 82% of the planted area last Thursday, agribusiness consultancy AgRural said, up five percentage points from the week before.

* Rainfall in the U.S. and Russian wheat belts, alongside hopes for a Black Sea ceasefire, pressured wheat prices.

* A state grains buyer in Syria issued an international tender to purchase about 100,000 metric tons of milling wheat, European traders said.

* Argus Media cut its forecast for Russian wheat production in 2025-26 to 80.3 million metric tons from 81.5 million in November 2024.

* Commodity funds net bought CBOT corn and wheat futures contracts on Monday and net sold soybean, soymeal and soyoil futures, traders said.

MARKET NEWS

The U.S. dollar strengthened against the Japanese yen and the euro on Monday but was set for its largest quarterly decline since July 2024, as uncertainty around U.S. tariffs kept traders mostly on the sidelines, waiting for clarity on President Donald Trump's trade policies. (Reporting by Ella Cao and Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Sumana Nandy)