GRAINS-Soybeans up for 2nd day, corn rises from near 6-month low

* U.S. soy up 0.24 pct, corn gains 0.7 pct, wheat rises 0.4 pct

* Bargain buying supports soybeans after last week's losses

* Wheat firms on U.S. crop concerns, Argentine output

* European wheat on Christmas mode; thin trade

(Updates prices, adds European wheat) PARIS/SINGAPORE, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Chicago soybeans rose on Monday, underpinned by bargain hunting after prices slid to a one-month low last week, while wheat got a boost from concerns that dry weather was hurting the U.S. winter crop. Corn futures gained on expectations of a rebound in demand for U.S. supplies, after dropping to their lowest since early July last week. The soybean market has been weighed down by signs of weakening demand from China, the world's top importer, which has cancelled U.S. cargoes on hopes of cheaper supplies from South America early next year. "It is a bit of a rebound from oversold levels after the market got spooked agricultural strategist at ANZ in Singapore. "Most markets are going to chop around in a range as there is not much action." Chicago Board Of Trade March soybeans rose 0.24 percent to $14.32-3/4 a bushel by 1119 GMT, after having firmed 1.7 percent on Friday. Last week, the contract closed down more than 4 percent, its steepest weekly decline since mid-November. March corn rose 0.71 percent to $7.07 a bushel, and March wheat rose by 0.44 percent to $7.95-3/4 a bushel. Last week, private exporters reported the cancellation of 540,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans sold to China - the biggest cancellation by the world's top importer of the oilseed in at least 14 years. Traders said the cancellations were due to expectations of a bumper crop in Brazil, the world's second-largest soybean exporter, where China could book supplies at much lower prices. Brazil's government food supply agency Conab has forecast the soybean crop at a record 82.6 million tonnes. The weather in Brazil's soybean areas has generally been favourable for the crop, and the harvest is expected to kick off by early January, according to agronomists. In addition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Friday that a 110,000 tonne soybean sale to unknown destinations for 2012/13 delivery, announced the Tuesday before, was incorrect. The front-month corn contract last week dropped to its lowest since early July on softer demand for U.S. cargoes. A forecast for the biggest U.S. corn acreage since 1936 from closely watched private analytics firm Informa Economics also dragged down prices. "The U.S. hasn't been competitive in the corn export market, but around $7 a bushel it starts getting competitive again," said Thianpiriya. The wheat market was underpinned by the threat of drought to the U.S. winter wheat crop. The first major snow storm of winter did little to ease the drought, which is the worst in more than 50 years in the crop-growing U.S. Central Plains and Midwest. In Europe, wheat futures continued a technical rebound that started on Friday, after hitting a five-month low on Thursday as the result of an end-of-year sell-off. Volumes were extremely thin on Monday as many traders were away from their desks, with the session on NYSE Euronext closing at midday. "For the moment the rebound does not offset the low seen last week," one trader said. "We remain cautious until the start of next year," he said, adding that the rebound did not necessarily mean markets were going to continue to rise. On the Paris futures market, benchmark March milling wheat was up 0.50 euros or 0.2 percent at 254.00 euros ($330) a tonne by 1129 GMT. Also Argentina's Agriculture Ministry has cut its estimate for 2012/13 wheat production by 5 percent to 10.5 million tonnes, which is still higher than leading private forecasts but reflects damage caused by wet weather.

* Prices as of 1116 GMT

Product Last Change Pct Move End 2009 Ytd PctParis wheat 255.50 1.00 +0.39 131.25 94.67 London wheat 0.00 -210.50 -100.00 106.50 -100.00 Paris maize 240.00 0.00 +0.00 135.00 77.78 Paris rapeseed 455.75 0.50 +0.11 287.50 58.52 CBOT wheat 795.50 3.50 +0.44 541.50 46.91 CBOT corn 706.75 4.75 +0.68 414.50 70.51 CBOT soybeans 1435.00 4.25 +0.30 1039.75 38.01 CBOT rice 15.25 0.04 +0.30 14.57 4.67 Crude oil 88.72 0.06 +0.07 79.36 11.79

($1 = 0.7590 euros)

(Editing by Jane Baird)