* Weather concerns in U.S., Australia support wheat
* U.S. Census Bureau oilseed crushing data; 1200 GMT
Chicago wheat futures ticked higher on Thursday, rising for the fifth straight session, as concerns over bad weather in the United States and Australia continued to support the market.
Soybeans edged lower ahead of key oilseed crushing data to be released by the U.S. Census Bureau, which will give the market an indication on demand for the newly-harvested bean crop.
"In the last few days, the market has drawn support from relatively weak U.S. crop conditions," said Luke Mathews, commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
"You have the crush data out from the U.S. tonight, and in the absence of any other major market news that is likely to draw a fair bit of focus."
Chicago Board of Trade December wheat rose 0.1 percent to $7.03¾ per bushel by 0306 GMT. CBOT soybeans for November delivery fell 0.3 percent to $12.19-¾ a bushel and December corn fell 0.1 percent to $5.76-¾ per bushel.
Front-month wheat has risen 5.2 percent in the last 5 sessions in the longest winning streak since August on concerns that a shortfall in production in the United States, the world's top exporter of the grain, could reignite a rally in prices.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Monday only 47 percent of the U.S. winter wheat crop was in good-toexcellent
condition, down from 62 percent a year ago.
Wheat futures surged to two-year highs in early August, almost doubling from June lows, as drought devastated Russia's harvest, including the highly productive Black Sea region, prompting the country to announce a sudden grain export ban.
Russia has warned that extreme drought that ravaged its grain crop this summer could also impact production during the winter season, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, quoting the country's agriculture minister.
Russian farmers were expected to plant winter grain crop over about 15.5 million hectares this year, down from an earlier forecast of 18 million hectares, Elena Skyrnnik was quoted as saying.
"We need to keep a close eye on that Black Sea region" because a second consecutive drought could turn the region, a key world grain exporter, into a net importer, said Gerald Bange, chairman of the USDA's World Agricultural Outlook Board, this week.
Soybean futures continue to trade near 14-month highs and corn prices are hovering around two-year highs.
China is set to expand its reliance on corn imports in the coming year, a Reuters poll of 10 forecasters showed on Wednesday, although there is little consensus on the overall balance of supply and demand.
China, which imported 1.3 million tonnes of corn in the year to September, will import 2.25 million tonnes in 2010/2011, according to the median forecast. That is more than double the 1.0 million forecast by USDA.