Chicago agricultural commodities close mixed

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Soybean futures jumped Friday on continued signs of demand for U.S. supplies and on expectations that hot temperatures will return to the U.S. Midwest next week.

Meanwhile, prices for corn rose while wheat fell.

The most active corn contract for December delivery closed up 4 cents, or 1.18 percent, to 3.4275 dollars per bushel. September wheat delivery fell 2.5 cents, or 0.61 percent, to 4.0775 dollars per bushel. November soybean rose 25 cents, or 2.56 percent, to 10.03 dollars per bushel.

All three commodities notched steep monthly losses on the final trading day of July and wheat futures fell to the lowest levels in about a decade before trimming declines.

Soybean prices rallied to their session peaks after the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that exporters sold 129,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans to unknown destinations, the third sale of at least 100,000 tonnes in as many days.

Still, August weather is crucial for determining soybean yields, and hot temperatures that could threaten plant development are due to descend on major crop-growing regions next week--and again in the middle of next month.

Wheat prices fell to a fresh 10-year low, buffeted by large domestic and world stockpiles of the grain and lackluster export demand for U.S. supplies. Losses in the wheat market were capped, however, by signs that dryness had curbed spring wheat production somewhat this year. Endit