GRAINS-Corn, soybeans head for weekly drop on favourable US weather

SINGAPORE, July 11 (Reuters) - Chicago corn and soybean futures dropped on Friday, with both contracts poised to end the week in negative territory, as near-ideal weather across the U.S. Midwest raised expectations for ample harvests and robust supplies.

Wheat prices retreated after a strong performance in the previous session, which had been driven by lower export volumes from top supplier Russia.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Cv1 was down 0.2% at $4.15-1/2 a bushel, as of 0021 GMT, and soybeans Sv1 gave up quarter-of-a-cent to trade at $10.13-1/2 a bushel. Wheat Wv1 edged 0.1% lower to $5.54 a bushel.

* For the week, corn has lost nearly 5%, the biggest weekly drop since late February. Soybeans have dropped 3.3%, giving up much of last week's gains while wheat has slid marginally.

* Favourable Midwest weather continues to hang over corn and soybean markets, fuelling expectations of bumper U.S. harvests that would add to big crops in rival exporter Brazil.

* The U.S. Department of Agriculture is due to issue its monthly crop estimates later on Friday.

* The Russian government on Thursday ordered measures to boost agriculture exports after international sales of wheat fell to their lowest since 2008, while traders are saying the new crop has been slow to come to the Black Sea terminals.

* The Sovecon consultancy estimates July wheat exports at 2 million-2.5 million tons, compared with 3.67 million tons in July 2024.

* Supply tensions could be short-lived, with the Russian harvest expected to accelerate in the coming days, according to traders.

* China's wheat output dipped 0.1% in 2025 from a year earlier, official data showed on Thursday, which is likely to limit the country's need to purchase grains from the international market.

* Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT corn, soybean, soymeal, wheat and soyoil futures contracts on Thursday, traders said. COMFUND/CBT

MARKET NEWS

* The S&P 500 and Nasdaq registered record closing highs on Thursday, and Nvidia's market value closed above $4 trillion for the first time, while the Brazilian real recovered some losses following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of a 50% tariff on the country's goods. MKTS/GLOB

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0300 China, Japan Overall Comprehensive Risk Q3

0600 UK GDP Estimate 3M/3M, MM, YY May

0600 UK Services MM, YY May

0600 UK Manufacturing Output MM May

0645 France CPI (EU Norm) Final MM, YY June

0645 France CPI MM, YY NSA June