Surging soymeal futures, which have climbed eight straight sessions, also supported soybeans as larger US soy exports would leave fewer supplies for domestic soybean crushers. Wheat futures were firm, rebounding from two days of declines, in the wake of a rare export sale to Iran. Corn futures also trimmed early losses amid rising soy and wheat. Each contract bounced from its session low, bucking pressure from the dollar as it climbed to its highest level in two weeks against a basket of global currencies. A strong dollar makes commodities priced in the greenback less attractive to importers. "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. "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. Actively-traded May soybeans gained 3-1/2 cents to $13.26-1/4 per bushel as of 12:21 p.m. CST (1821 GMT) after earlier falling as low as $13.16-1/4. 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. Analytics 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. "Informa is what really turned this market around," said Mike Zuzolo, analyst at Global Commodity Analytics. "Traders got disappointed in the price action and Informa brought the bulls back in and forced the shorts to cover." USDA will update its own production estimates in a monthly supply and demand report due next Friday. Growing export demand and lower production helped soybean futures in February post their largest monthly gain in more than a year. Soymeal futures have gained even further, rising nearly 16 percent so far this year on increasing competition in US cash markets. Soybeans, corn and wheat were all on pace for their biggest weekly gains in a month. 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 1 cent at $6.65-1/4 per bushel while May corn fell 5 cents to $6.49. 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.