US corn futures were down 1 percent early on Friday as the harvest in the Midwest grain belt advanced but for the week were on track to snap a five-week losing streak. A better-than-expected US nonfarm payrolls report helped put a floor under grain prices when stock markets initially rose on the news.
Soybean futures were choppy while wheat was marginally lower, with investors waiting for clearer signals on Europe's debt crisis, which has dominated trading all week along with the gyrating dollar. Soybeans were set for their fifth straight weekly decline - the longest weekly losing streak in two years. Wheat was on track for its first weekly gain since August.
A weak dollar and higher crude oil underpinned grain futures but price moves were narrow and trading choppy ahead of the US Agriculture Department's monthly crop report, slated for release on Wednesday. Corn futures for December delivery edged 4-1/2 cents lower to $6.01 per bushel at the Chicago Board of Trade and were hovering near a 9-1/2 month low set earlier this week. CBOT November soyabeans rose 1-1/2 cents to $11.65-1/4 per bushel and near Monday's one-year low. CBOT December wheat was down 1 cent at $6.15 per bushel after earlier trading higher.
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