CANBERRA, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat futures edged

higher on Friday but were near their lowest since 2020 and down

nearly 3% for the week as ample supply of cheap Black Sea grain

pressured prices.

Corn and soybean futures also steadied after falling to near

four-year lows on Thursday, with results from the Pro Farmer

crop tour reinforcing expectations of bumper U.S. crops.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The December soft red winter wheat contract on the Chicago

Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.2% at $5.36-3/4 a bushel

at 0034 GMT but down 2.9% from last Friday's close.

* CBOT most-active corn rose 0.1% to $3.93-3/4 a

bushel and was up 0.3% over the week while soybeans

climbed 0.3% to $9.64-1/4 a bushel and headed for a 0.8% weekly

gain.

* Plentiful supply of all three crops has caused speculators

to build up significant bets on further prices falls. Funds were

net sellers of wheat, corn and soy on Thursday, traders said.

* Top wheat exporter Russia expects a large harvest and

exports from Ukraine have been brisk. Forecasts for a large U.S.

crop expectations have also helped offset losses in France and

Germany, where heavy rains have damaged crops.

* Argentina's current wheat season should continue to

improve thanks to recent rainy days, the Buenos Aires grains

exchange said on Thursday, and Australia also anticipates

above-average wheat production.

* The Canadian government moved quickly on Thursday to end

an unprecedented rail stoppage that would disrupt Canadian and

U.S. wheat exports if it endured.

* In other crops, corn yield prospects in Illinois are the

biggest in the Pro Farmer crop tour's 32-year history and the

state's soybean-pod count is the largest since 2000, scouts on

the annual U.S. Midwest tour reported on Wednesday.

* The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday reported a

fourth consecutive day of soybean sales to China, but the uptick

in demand was overshadowed by strong yield estimates and

competition from cheap South American crops.

MARKETS NEWS

* Stocks fell and the dollar gained on Thursday as traders

digested fresh economic data and awaited confirmation from the

U.S. Federal Reserve on Friday that it will soon start to cut

interest rates.