By Kirk Maltais


--Wheat for March delivery fell 0.9%, to $5.64 1/2 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Friday, with an overnight short-covering push in wheat losing momentum as the day progressed, as France's agricultural agency reported wheat harvesting ahead of last year's pace.

--Corn for March delivery fell 0.2%, to $4.35 1/2 a bushel.

--Soybeans for January delivery rose 0.7%, to $9.84 3/4 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Drifting Off: Wheat was seen as being higher overnight, but was flat by the time trading opened Friday--with futures then sliding as the day progressed. "Wheat tried the upside overnight on chart short covering, but fell back late in the session on lack of follow through before the weekend," says Charlie Sernatinger of Marex in a note. U.S. winter wheat is entering dormancy as winter sets in, and French wheat appears to be harvested at a faster pace than this time last year, according to France AgriMer.

Renewed Interest: Recent price weakness in soybeans was met with interest from buyers foreign and domestic, said Argus in a note. This is backed-up by strong export sales reported by the USDA this week, including flash sales to China. "In this phase of decline, some buyers are back, as illustrated by the new exceptional sales," said the firm.


INSIGHT


Holiday Seasonality: Corn and soybean futures on the CBOT were volatile in the session, with upward momentum in action despite fundamentals for both appearing unsupportive. That's because grain futures tend to show strength around the Thanksgiving holiday, said Naomi Blohm of Total Farm Marketing in a note. Blohm adds that the direction for prices also depends on what the fundamentals look like, which may be more of an issue for soybeans than corn.

Veggie Oil Issues: Soyoil futures on the CBOT slipped 0.8% on Friday, falling on sizable weakness in palm oil. In turn, soyoil weakness extended into soybeans. "The palm oil freefall pressured CBOT soyoil as the U.S.'s FOB price advantage in world vegoil markets narrowed," said AgResource in a note. Palm oil futures were down as much as 8%, with Asian analysts tying the drop-off to intense profit-taking and weak export demand.


AHEAD


--The USDA will release its weekly grains export inspections report at 11 a.m. ET Monday.

--The USDA will release its monthly Cold Storage report at 3 p.m. ET Monday.

--The USDA will release its weekly Crop Progress report at 4 p.m. ET Monday.


Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-22-24 1523ET