Investing.com -
Investing.com - U.S. wheat futures ended the week close to a four-month low on Friday, as ongoing indications of ample global supplies weighed.
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, U.S. wheat for July delivery fell to a session low of $5.8340 a bushel on Friday, the weakest level since February 11, before coming off the lows to settle at $5.8600 by close of trade, up 0.13%, or 0.6 cents.
On the week, the July wheat contract lost 5.2%, or 32.2 cents, the fifth consecutive weekly decline.
Wheat prices have been under heavy selling pressure in recent weeks as market players liquidated long positions amid easing concerns over tightening supplies.
Earlier in the week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture raised its outlook for U.S. wheat inventories at the end of the 2014-15 season that started on June 1 to 574 million bushels from the 540 million bushels forecast last month.
Meanwhile, U.S. corn for July delivery edged up 0.68%, or 3.0 cents, on Friday to settle at $4.4700 a bushel by close of trade. Prices slumped to $4.3920 on Wednesday, the weakest level since February 14.
Despite Friday's gains, the July corn contract still lost 2.61%, or 12.0 cents on the week amid indications of ample global supplies.
The USDA said that U.S. farmers will harvest 13.935 billion bushels of corn this year, slightly higher than last year's record crop of 13.925 billion.
The USDA also projected that global corn inventories will total 182.7 million tonnes in the 2014-15 marketing year, up from May's forecast of 181.73 million tonnes, citing increased output in Brazil and India.
Elsewhere on the Chicago Board of Trade, U.S. soybeans for July delivery advanced 0.74%, or 10.4 cents, on Friday to settle the week at $14.2560 a bushel. Prices of the oilseed slumped to $14.1000 on Thursday, the lowest since March 24.
On the week, the July soybean contract fell 2.15%, or 31.4 cents.
The USDA said that U.S. soybean production in the 2014-15 season will hit an all-time high of 3.635 billion bushels.
In the week ahead, market players will focus on the release of key USDA data, including crop progress and weekly export sales figures.
Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, followed by soybeans, government figures show. Wheat was fourth, behind hay.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.