FUNDAMENTALS
* The most active soybean futures on the Chicago Board Of Trade were down nearly 0.5 percent for the week, set for the first weekly loss in three weeks.
* The most active corn futures edged up slightly on Friday but were down nearly 1 percent for the week, heading for a second straight weekly loss.
* The most active wheat futures dipped slightly to be down nearly 1 percent for the week, facing the biggest weekly loss in six weeks.
* China's trade delegation said the latest round of talks with the United States made "important progress" for the current stage, China's official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping soon to try to seal a comprehensive trade deal as Trump and his top trade negotiator both cited substantial progress in two days of high-level talks.
* Corn was pressured in part by the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange raising its estimate of Argentina's corn crop to 45 million tonnes, from 43 million previously, citing better-than-expected yields.
* The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported export sales of U.S. corn in the week to Dec. 20 at 1.75 million tonnes (old and new crop years combined), above trade expectations for 1.050 million to 1.6 million tonnes.
* Wheat supported by worries over dry weather in Australia. Its western coast is facing hot, dry weather over the next three months, the country's meteorology bureau said, denting the outlook for wheat production in the world's fourth-largest exporter.
MARKET NEWS
* The Australian and New Zealand dollars held steady versus the greenback on Friday, as the Federal Reserve's more dovish stance and improved prospects for a U.S.-Sino trade deal boosted investor risk appetite.
* Oil prices rose on Friday, lifted by OPEC's supply cuts and hopes the United States and China could soon settle their trade disputes.
* Wall Street ascended on Thursday, with the S&P 500 wrapping up its biggest monthly increase since 2015 after strong earnings from Facebook Inc added to optimism after the Federal Reserve's dovish remarks.