HAMBURG/SINGAPORE: Chicago wheat rose again on Friday, supported by a combination of short-covering before investment fund portfolio changes and concerns about bad weather in the United States and eastern Europe, along with the impact of a weaker dollar this week.
Soybeans eased for a second day, while corn fell in profit-taking after strong weekly gains.
"Markets are moving on a series of factors today rather than one dominant reason," said Matt Ammermann, commodity risk manager at INTL FCStone. "Wheat and corn are still being supported by the rebalancing of portfolios by investment funds while soybeans are being weakened by this."
"There is also some positioning ahead of the world supply and demand report next Thursday from the US Department of Agriculture. The dollar is a little stronger today but is still well down on the week."
Chicago Board of Trade most-active March wheat was up 0.1 percent at 4.26-3/4 a bushel at 1130 GMT. Wheat has climbed about 4.4 percent so far this week and earlier on Friday hit the highest since Nov. 23 at $4.27-1/2 a bushel.
March soybeans were down 0.5 percent at $10.06-3/4 a bushel after falling on profit-taking on Thursday. March corn was down 0.07 percent at $3.61 a bushel after rising in the previous session.
Wheat futures have been supported this week by positioning by traders adjusting their bets on the grain before a rebalancing of investment portfolios by index funds next week.
"Wheat is also being underpinned by fears of cold weather in parts of the United States and eastern Europe, including Ukraine and Russia, along with the money flow generated by the fund rebalancing," Ammermann said.
Record snow and rain pummelled the western United States on Thursday, raising the threat of floods and freezing temperatures in some areas, weather officials said.
An expected sharp fall in temperatures in Ukraine could damage the country's winter grain crops because of a lack of snow cover on the fields, analyst UkrAgroConsult said on Thursday.
"Corn is seeing some profit-taking after its firm rises this week," Ammermann said.
Chicago corn futures rose for the fifth straight session on Thursday, supported by a falling dollar and gains in the wheat market.
"Soybeans are currently overall being driven by concerns about weather in Argentina and Brazil," Ammermann added. "The South American weather is far from perfect but today there are no new factors visible to intensify this South American weather risk, so the concern is less dominant than the impact of the fund rebalancing."
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