Investing.com - U.S. grain futures ended Friday’s session mixed, as investors readjusted positions ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s closely-watched reports on inventories and crop sowings due on Monday.
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, U.S. wheat for September delivery rallied 1.54%, or 9.0 cents, on Friday to settle at $5.9360 a bushel by close of trade.
On the week, the September wheat contract advanced 1.47%, or 8.7 cents, the first weekly gain in seven weeks.
Prices of the grain have been on a downward trend recently amid indications of ample global supplies. The September contract fell to a four-month low of $5.7700 on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, U.S. corn for September delivery edged up 0.74%, or 3.2 cents, on Friday to settle at $4.4220 a bushel by close of trade.
Despite Friday’s modest uptick, the September corn contract still lost 2.46%, or 11.2 cents on the week, amid ongoing expectations for a record U.S. corn crop.
Elsewhere on the Chicago Board of Trade, U.S. soybeans for August delivery dipped 0.27%, or 3.6 cents, on Friday to settle the week at $13.7800 a bushel.
On the week, the August soybean contract fell 2.84%, or 40.4 cents, as warm, wet weather in key growing-states in the U.S. boosted the outlook for supplies.
In the week ahead, market players will focus on the release of key USDA data scheduled for Monday, including forecasts of quarterly grain stocks as well as planting figures for the corn, soybean and wheat crops.
The agency is expected to say that U.S. soybean stockpiles as of June 1 were 378 million bushels, a 37-year low for that date.
Analysts also expect the data to show that U.S. corn stocks were 3.722 billion bushels as of June 1, a four-year high for that date, while wheat stocks totaled 598 million bushels, which would be the lowest in six years.
Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, followed by soybeans, government figures show. Wheat was fourth, behind hay.