BEIJING, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean and corn

futures ticked higher on Wednesday on signs of rising demand as

traders monitored the progress of the Pro Farmer crop tour,

which has so far forecast high yields.

Wheat also rose amid concerns of a smaller harvest in

Russia.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of

Trade (CBOT) was up 0.05% at $9.77 a bushel, as of 0138

GMT, CBOT corn edged 0.25% higher to $3.99 a bushel, while

wheat gained 0.4% to $5.59 a bushel.

* Nebraska's corn yield prospects and soybean pod counts are

at levels not seen since 2021, surpassing both last year's

findings and their three-year averages, scouts on an annual tour

of top U.S. production states found on Tuesday.

* Indiana's soybean pod count is the largest on the Pro

Farmer crop tour in 22 years and its corn yield prospects are at

a three-year high, scouts on the annual tour of top U.S. grain

and oilseed producing states reported on Tuesday.

* Exporters sold 132,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans to

China and 239,492 metric tons to Mexico for shipment in the

2024/25 marketing year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

* Argentina's upcoming 2024/25 corn crop is seen covering

6.3 million hectares, down 17% compared to the previous cycle as

pest and weather concerns mount, the Buenos Aires grains

exchange announced on Tuesday.

* Argentine authorities have quarantined a cargo ship in the

Parana River over a suspected case of mpox onboard, the

government said on Tuesday, as global public health authorities

remain on alert for a new faster-spreading variant of the virus.

* Russia, the world's biggest wheat exporter, may harvest

less wheat than forecast, Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut said

on Tuesday in the first cautious official acknowledgment of the

damage inflicted on crops by bad weather earlier this year.

* Commodity funds were net buyers of Chicago Board of Trade

soybean, soymeal, soyoil and wheat futures contracts, and net

sellers of corn futures contracts on Tuesday, traders said.

MARKETS NEWS

* Global stocks hovered near their highest in a month on

Tuesday, while the dollar hit an eight-month low, as investors

focused on bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve could offer

further hints of imminent interest rate cuts.