CANBERRA, May 23 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat futures edged lower on Friday, slipping for the second straight day, as a short-covering rally that lifted prices from last week's five-year low ran out of steam, but remained on track for a weekly gain.
Corn and soybean futures rose slightly and were also headed for weekly gains.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The most active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Wv1 dipped 0.1% to $5.44 a bushel by 0107 GMT. However, it is up 3.6% from last Friday's close.
* CBOT soybeans Sv1 rose 0.2% to $10.69-3/4 a bushel, rising 1.9% over the week, and corn Cv1 climbed 0.1% to $4.63-1/2 a bushel, gaining 4.5% so far this week.
* Wheat bounced back from a low of $5.06-1/4 hit on May 13 as concerns over adverse weather in Russia and China and a decline in U.S. wheat ratings triggered a wave of short-covering by speculators, who had bet heavily on price declines.
* But traders aren't convinced that crops will suffer significant immediate losses and funds switched back to net sellers on Thursday, traders said.
* A run of U.S. dollar weakness, which helped lift CBOT prices by making U.S. farm goods more attractive to importers, also ended on Thursday. .DXY USD/
* Keeping a floor under wheat prices, however, were better-than-expected weekly U.S. wheat export numbers released on Thursday. Total exports were the biggest for a single week since December 2023.
* The International Grains Council (IGC) maintained its 2025-26 wheat crop outlook at 806 million metric tons, with an upward revision for the United States offset by cuts for Iran and Turkey.
* The IGC also raised its forecast for 2025-26 global corn production by 3 million metric tons to 1.277 billion tons.
* Top wheat exporter Russia has removed a minimum wheat price recommendation until the end of the export season on July 1, sources told Reuters.
* The move could reduce Russian export prices but traders said it was unlikely to have a major impact because Russia doesn't have a huge amount of grain to sell and demand from importers is weak.
* Heavy rains in Argentina have delayed its wheat planting and soybean and corn harvests, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said.
MARKETS NEWS
* Thirty-year U.S. bond yields reached their highest in 19 months before easing on Thursday, with worries lingering over the U.S. fiscal outlook and demand for government debt, while stocks on Wall Street ended flat to slightly higher. MKTS/GLOB