CHICAGO, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade corn futures firmed on Friday in a short-covering bounce ahead of the weekend and ahead of a closely-followed crop tour set to survey Midwest production prospects next week.
Commodity funds are net short corn futures, leaving the market vulnerable to short-covering rallies.
Friday's gains market clawed back nearly all of the week's losses following a much higher-than-expected U.S. harvest outlook issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday.
Recent low prices have also sparked improved export demand.
The Pro Farmer Midwest crop tour will estimate corn yields across seven states next week before issuing its crop outlook next Friday. Scattered social media posts of crop pollination issues this summer have some traders on edge in case field reports from the tour suggest USDA's record harvest outlook is too lofty.
Actively traded CBOT December corn futures CZ25 ended 8 cents higher at $4.05-1/4 per bushel. After posting weekly losses in the past three weeks, the contract ended the week down just 1/4 cent.