Soybeans firm from two-week low, set for weekly loss of 2.5 pct

(Reuters) – U.S. soybeans rose for the first time in four sessions on Friday as prices edged up from a two-week low, but the oilseed is heading for a weekly loss of more than 2.5 percent as a U.S. crop tour pegged prospects for the crop at above average.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The most active soybean futures on the Chicago Board Of Trade down more than 2.5 percent for the week, the first weekly slide in three weeks.

* The most active corn futures down more than 3 percent for the week, the biggest weekly fall in five weeks.

* The most active wheat futures down more than 4.5 percent for the week, the first weekly fall in a month.

* The annual four-day Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour observed on Thursday soybean crop prospects in southern Minnesota that were above average, and in line with last year. Soybean potential in eastern Iowa looked on par with recent years.

* Late on Wednesday, the tour reported above-average soybean pod counts in Illinois and the western portion of Iowa.

* The International Grains Council on Thursday raised its forecasts for world corn and wheat production in the 2016-17 season to record highs.

* USDA reported weekly export sales of 71,100 tonnes of old-crop corn, below trade expectations, and 1,059,900 tonnes of new-crop corn, above expectations.

MARKET NEWS

* The dollar remained on tenterhooks on Friday, ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s highly anticipated speech later in the session that some believe could provide clarity on whether U.S. interest rates are headed higher this year.

* Oil prices dipped in early trading on Friday after the Saudi energy minister tempered expectations of strong market intervention by producers during talks next month.

* U.S. stocks were modestly lower on Thursday, weighed down by a drop in healthcare and consumer names, while financials advanced slightly after two more Federal Reserve officials pushed the case for a rate hike.