GRAINS-Corn falls from 2013 high, set for weekly gains of 7%

CANBERRA, April 23 (Reuters) – U.S. corn futures edged lower on Friday, after earlier hitting a near eight-year high, although concerns about global supplies pushed the grain towards weekly gains of more than 7%.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The most-active corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 0.5% to $6.28-1/2 a bushel by 0127 GMT, having earlier hit a June 2013 high of 6.35 a bushel. Corn closed up 1% on Thursday. For the week, it is up 7% — the biggest one-week gain since Jan 29.

* Soybean futures are up more than 5.5% for the week, the biggest one-week gain since May 2019.

* Wheat futures are up more than 8% for the week, the biggest weekly gain since July 2020.

* U.S. corn and soy harvests are dwindling, and traders remain concerned about a U.S. cold spell this week and dryness in Brazil threatening prospects for the next crop.

* Chinese buyers are thought to have booked at least half a million tonnes from the next French wheat harvest, as China looks widely to cover grain import needs heightened by a domestic corn deficit, traders said.

MARKET NEWS

* The dollar was hemmed into a narrow trading range on Friday as traders contemplate the next moves by major central banks ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting next week.

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