SYDNEY (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures rose more than 0.5 percent on Friday, though concerns about Chinese demand for North American supplies as bilateral trade talks continue pushed the oilseed towards a third consecutive weekly loss.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The most active soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade <Sv1> were down more than 0.1 percent for the week, on course for their third straight weekly fall.
* The most active corn futures <Cv1> were little changed for the week, after finishing the previous week down 2.4 percent.
* The most active wheat futures <Wv1> were steady for the week, after closing down 5 percent last week.
* Wheat prices have been drawing support on concerns over dry weather in the United States, Australia and Russia.
* Traders were focused on the outcome of trade talks between the United States and China.
* The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday said that soybean export sales totalled 506,600 tonnes in the latest week, near the low-end of forecasts that ranged from 400,000 tonnes to 1 million tonnes.
MARKET NEWS
* The dollar climbed to a four-month peak against the yen on Thursday, bolstered by a rise in U.S. Treasury yields that suggests a more upbeat outlook for the world's largest economy. [USD/]
* Oil prices held firm on Friday on strong demand, ongoing supply cuts led by producer cartel OPEC and looming U.S. sanctions against major crude exporter Iran. [O/R]
* Wall Street ended a choppy trading session lower on Thursday, as investors grappled with escalating trade tensions and rising oil prices. [.N]
(This story corrects headline, first paragraph and first bullet to show soybean prices set for third weekly fall, not biggest weekly loss in 9 months)
(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Joseph Radford)
