Chicago agricultural commodities close mixed

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains futures closed mixed Friday, with soybean futures dropping as the weather outlook for the Midwest bolstered expectations of a huge harvest in the fall.

Prices for corn and wheat rose, recovering from early weakness on short-covering and technical buying.

The most active corn contract for December delivery was up 1.75 cents, or 0.51 percent, to 3.4375 dollars per bushel. December wheat delivery rose 0.5 cents, or 0.11 percent, to 4.4475 dollars per bushel. November soybeans fell 10 cents, or 0.99 percent, to 10.045 dollars per bushel.

"It is possible that trade is not fully realizing U.S. soybean demand for this coming year," said Karl Setzer, of brokerage MaxYield Cooperative. "Much of the attention in the market is on production right now, and while that is favorable, demand could easily out-pace production."

Still, timely rains in the Farm Belt are a good sign for the soybean crop, which already is projected to hit records, according to the USDA. August is the most important month for determining soybean yields, and precipitation expected to continue over the next two weeks may boost crop yields even further.

Corn prices lifted, bolstered by investor short-covering and light buying despite government forecasts for bulging grain stockpiles.

The stronger dollar limited corn's gains. The greenback rose 0.4% on Friday, according to the WSJ Dollar Index, making domestic agricultural products priced in dollars less affordable for foreign buyers.

Huge global supplies of wheat and the USDA's forecast for a record large U.S. corn harvest limited the gains in grains.

Source : XINHUA