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Wheat choppy as global supply weighs

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Corn ticks up on increased export business

(Updates for market open, changes byline, changes dateline from

PARIS/CANBERRA)

By Heather Schlitz

CHICAGO, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean futures rose

on Friday, driven by short-covering ahead of the weekend and

technical buying, after forecasts for a bumper South American

crop sent soy futures plunging to a four-year low a day earlier.

Wheat futures set contract lows for a second straight day as

a strong global supply weighed on the market, while corn gained

on an uptick in export business.

Agricultural commodities are under pressure from a U.S.

dollar that is lingering near a two-year high. A stronger

dollar makes U.S. crops less competitive overseas.

Chicago Board of Trade soybeans rose 11-1/2 cents to

$9.74-1/2 a bushel as of 11:26 am CST (1728 GMT) as

position-squaring ahead of the weekend and holiday season added

a lift to prices.

Soybean futures hit a four-year low of $9.45-1/4 on Thursday

as the runup to what is expected to be a record-large Brazilian

soybean harvest pressured prices.

"They're on their way to having a great crop, and that's

going to put a wet blanket on U.S. prices," said Chuck Shelby,

president of Risk Management Commodities.

The most-active wheat contract on the CBOT was up

2-1/2 cents to $5.35-1/2 a bushel after it and most other

contracts posted lifetime lows earlier in the session. CBOT corn

was up 5-1/4 cents to $4.46 a bushel.

Wheat import tenders this week have suggested Black Sea

supplies remain readily available, while large harvests wrapping

up in Argentina and Australia are adding to export competition.

"Wheat is the weak link here," Shelby said.

Corn has been underpinned by the U.S. Department of

Agriculture's reduced forecast for U.S. end-of-season

inventories, published last week.

An earlier drop in corn prices triggered an uptick in global

demand, particularly from South Korean buyers.