Corn futures also trimmed early losses at the Chicago Board of Trade as investment fund buying lifted prices of each crop off their session lows. "There's quite a few reasons why we might not see this being a runaway bear market this morning," said Allendale Inc analyst Rich Nelson, who pointed to further export sales of soybeans and production concerns in South American and the Black Sea region. The dollar climbed to its highest level in two weeks against a basket of global currencies -- including a nine-month high against the Japanese yen -- making commodities priced in the greenback less attractive to importers. The gains in the dollar pressured grain futures at the open before soybeans and wheat reversed course, while corn rebounded from its lows. "We're seeing a little pressure from the outside markets, with the dollar posting a strong rebound here. (But) we've seen some strong fund buying this week," Nelson said. Soybeans notched a five-month high, with actively-traded May soybeans gaining 5-3/4 cents to $13.28-1/4 per bushel as of 10:36 a.m. Growing export demand has propped up soybeans in recent weeks. The US Department of Agriculture early on Friday said private exporters sold 285,000 tonnes of soybeans to an unknown buyer. Closely watched analytical firm Informa Economics slashed its forecast for the Brazilian soy crop to 68 million tonnes, down from its previous estimate of 70 million tonnes, trade sources said. Growing export demand and lower production helped soybean futures in February post their largest monthly gain in more than a year. Soybeans, corn and wheat were each on pace for the biggest weekly gains in two weeks. Wheat futures were propped up by Iran's first purchase of US wheat in three years, announced by USDA on Thursday. CBOT May wheat was up 4-1/4 cents at $6.68-1/4 per bushel while May corn fell 2-1/4 cents to $6.51-3/4. Iran made a rare purchase of US wheat on Thursday -- 120,000 tonnes, enough to fill two large cargo ships -- in an effort to build food stockpiles as the United States and Europe enforce tough new sanctions to contain Tehran's nuclear ambitions. US wheat is facing stiff competition in the global market from cheaper alternatives such as grain grown in the Black Sea region. "From a prices perspective it was not surprising. US wheat is the cheapest at the moment. From a political perspective, it was a surprise," one French trader said of Iran's purchase. Weather remained in focus in Europe. After reports this week of significant winter damage to wheat in eastern France, operators were being more cautious and waiting for clearer indications about how much area was affected and could be resown with spring crops. Traders were also keeping an eye on the situation in Ukraine where severe cold has hit transportation. Grain exports from that country fell by about 25 percent in February to 1.7 million tonnes. "If the weather improved in Ukraine and transport situation is resolved, wheat prices on European markets could fall," said one Italian trader. In South America, hot and dry weather throughout the growing season has curtailed crop production in Brazil and Argentina, putting a premium on supplies being held by US farmers since last fall's harvest.