U.S. soy falls on rain forecasts; corn firm, wheat weak

(New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments; new byline, changes dateline, pvs PARIS/SINGAPORE)

CHICAGO, Aug 5 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures fell on Friday for the fourth session of the last five, pressured by forecasts for spotty Midwest rains that could boost the health of it crop as it passes through key development periods, traders said.

"Last year taught us that crops can survive (and even thrive) on minimal, just-in-time rains," Matt Zeller, director of market information at brokerage StoneX said in a note to clients.

Corn futures were firm on technical buying while wheat eased as traders monitored the progress of exports from Black Sea ports in war-torn Ukraine.

At 10:14 a.m. CDT (1514 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade November soybean futures were off 13-1/2 cents at $14.04-1/4 a bushel.

"The bulk of the United States is heading into the start of podfill season with heat and scattered rains short term before bigger rains expected to the east and north central areas this weekend," FuturesOne said in a note to clients.

Signs of renewed import demand this week helped limit losses, traders said.

Private exporters reported the sale of 132,000 tonnes of soybeans to China and 132,000 tonnes of soybeans to unknown destinations, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Friday morning.

CBOT December corn was up 5-1/4 cents at $6.11-1/2 a bushel. The contract found support from overnight weakness at its 20-day moving average.

Three ships carrying a total of 58,041 tonnes of corn have been authorised to leave Ukrainian ports on Friday as part of a deal to unblock grain exports.

CBOT September soft red winter wheat was down 6 cents at $7.76-1/2 a bushel.

The resumption of Ukrainian maritime trade has weighed on grain price this week, with Chicago wheat hitting a six-month low, although brisk international wheat demand and chatter of Chinese interest in U.S. soybeans has lent some support. (Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Mark Potter and David Gregorio)