Chicago agricultural commodities market ends mixed

Chicago agricultural commodities futures closed mixed Friday with corn rising and wheat and soybeans dropping.

The most active corn contract for March delivery rose 3 cents, or 0.78 percent, to close at 3.8675 U.S. dollars per bushel. Soybeans for March delivery dropped 4 cents, or 0.41 percent, to close at 9.7275 dollars per bushel. Wheat for March delivery lost 3.75 cents, or 0.70 percent, to close at 5.3 dollars per bushel.

Corn rose and soybeans fell on the export report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Friday. The report showed for the week ending Jan. 15, the weekly export sales of corn were 2.185 million tonnes, topping analysts' expectations, which supported corn futures. Wheat export sales totaled 0.56 million tonnes, beating trade forecasts, while the soybean sales also disappointed traders.

The weather forecast is slightly wetter for the east and north of Brazil. Near to above normal rainfall is expected during the 11 to 15 days, which analysts said should help boost soybean yields in the central and south of Brazil. Analysts say the forecast in Argentina looks nearly ideal and record large corn and soybean yields are likely if this favorable pattern can persist into late February. Endite