CANBERRA, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Strong demand for U.S. soybeans helped push Chicago futures up for a third consecutive session on Monday, although expectations that rain will boost production in key exporter Brazil kept a lid on gains.

Wheat and corn futures fell.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.1% at $13.16-3/4 a bushel by 0135 GMT.

* CBOT corn fell 0.4% to $4.81 a bushel and wheat dipped 0.8% to $6.24-1/4 a bushel.

* The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Friday confirmed export sales of U.S. soybeans for an eighth consecutive trading session, saying that 447,500 metric tons were sold to unknown destinations and another 134,000 metric tons to China.

* Domestic demand for U.S. beans also looked solid. Monthly data from the National Oilseed Processors Association showed that the U.S. soybean crush in November rose to its second-highest level on record, exceeding expectations.

* Still, traders are weighing the prospects for soybean production in Brazil, where forecasters expect rains to ease heat and dryness in key cropping areas, which could lift yields.

* Aside from adverse weather, Brazilian soy farmers are now facing a dearth of seeds as suppliers have run out of the main cultivars, the head of seed company Boa Safra Sementes said.

* Speculators are betting on higher soybean prices, but exchange data show they trimmed their net long position in CBOT contracts in the week ended Dec. 12. They were again net sellers on Friday, traders said.

* Soybeans have fallen from above $15 a bushel at the start of the year, but clawed back from a two-year low of $12.51 in October.

* In wheat markets, speculators had by Dec. 12 slashed their net short in CBOT futures and options to 69,529 contracts, the smallest in 17 weeks, and traders said they bought again on Friday.

* A run of large sales of U.S. wheat to China triggered a flurry of short covering that drove futures to a four-month high of $6.50 a bushel on Dec. 6, but plentiful supply, particularly from Russia, has kept prices under pressure.

* U.S. exports of soft red winter wheat (SRW) are set to exceed exports of hard red winter wheat (HRW) for the first time in 2023-24.

* Argentina's 2023/24 wheat harvest is meanwhile likely to get a boost after a strong showing in the southern agricultural region, the Buenos Aires grains exchange said.

* Turning to corn, where strong supply is holding prices near three-year lows, traders said the market was underpinned by a Biden administration decision to recognize a methodology favored by the ethanol industry in guidance to companies looking to claim tax credits for sustainable aviation fuel.

* Agribusiness consultancy Safras, meanwhile, pegged Brazil's corn harvest at 129.16 million tons, down from an estimate of 135.71 million tons in September.

* Danish shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk will pause all container shipments through the Red Sea until further notice, a spokesperson for the company said.

MARKETS NEWS

Asia stocks got off to a cautious start in a week where Japan's central bank might edge further away from its uber-easy policies, while a key reading on U.S. inflation is expected to underpin market pricing of interest rate cuts there.

(Reporting by Peter Hobson; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)