SINGAPORE, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Chicago soybeans inched higher on Friday, with the market set for a weekly gain after recovering from a three-year low hit earlier this week, as expectations of lower production in Brazil underpinned prices.
Corn eased with the market poised for a second weekly loss, while wheat firmed, although prices were set to end the week in negative territory.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.3% at $11.96-1/2 a bushel, as of 0107 GMT. The market, which dropped this week to its lowest level since December 2020, has climbed 0.7% so far this week.
* Corn was down 0.1% at $4.33 a bushel and wheat added 0.2% to $5.89-1/2 a bushel. For the week, corn is down 2.2%, while wheat has lost 1.7%.
* The U.S. Department of Agriculture pegged Brazilian soy production at 156 million metric tons in a monthly report, down from 157 million tons in January, following unfavourable hot, dry weather. Analysts on average expected 153.15 million tons, according to a Reuters survey.
* Brazilian crop agency Conab lowered Brazil's 2023/24 soybean crop projection to 149.4 million metric tons from 155.2 million tons in a January report.
* The country's corn production was pegged at 113.7 million tons, below January's 117.6 million tons.
* The La Nina weather pattern characterized by unusually cold temperatures in the Pacific Ocean could emerge in the second half of 2024, following a strong El Nino year, a U.S. government weather forecaster said on Thursday.
* Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT corn, soybean, soymeal and wheat futures contracts on Thursday, and net buyers of soyoil, traders said.
MARKET NEWS
* Wall Street's major indexes rose on Thursday with the S&P index hovering near the 5,000-point milestone as investors reacted to earnings reports and U.S. jobs data, and the dollar gained.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0700 Germany HICP Final YY Jan (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
