Soybeans head for second straight weekly loss

U.S. soybean futures held steady on Friday, but were poised to record their second consecutive weekly loss amid concerns over a prolonged trade war between Washington and Beijing.

FUNDAMENTALS
* The most active soybean futures on the Chicago Board OfTrade were down nearly 0.5 percent for the week.
* The most active corn futures were little changed this week after two consecutive weekly declines.
* The most active wheat futures were down 2 percent for the week, the biggest weekly fall in seven weeks.
* Soybeans were under pressure as U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping are unlikely to meet, dashing hopes that the two sides were progressing on a deal to end a bitter trade fight.
* Market participants were waiting for a long list of U.S. Department of Agriculture crop forecasts and estimates due on Friday after key reports were delayed due to the 35-day partial government shutdown.
* The soy harvest in Brazil’s second-largest producing state of Parana is well ahead of last season, with limited damage to the fields from drought, state agricultural research body Deral said on Tuesday.

MARKET NEWS
* The dollar held near a two-week high on Friday, as investors rushed to the safety of the greenback following a setback in U.S.-China trade negotiations and broader worries about slowing global growth.
* Oil markets dipped on Friday, dragged down by concerns over a global economic slowdown although supply cuts led by producer club OPEC and U.S. sanctions against Venezuela provided crude with some support.
* Wall Street stocks sank on Thursday as worries that the United States and China would not be able to reach a trade deal increased concerns about slowing global economic growth.

DATA/EVENTS AHEAD (GMT)
0050  Japan      Current Account NSA JPY       Dec
1315  Canada     House Starts, Annualized      Jan
1330  Canada     Employment Change             Jan
1330  Canada       Unemployment Rate           Jan
1815  Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly speaks at Bay Area Council Economic Institute's 12th Annual Economic Forecast Conference
0030   Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard to give presentation on U.S. economy and monetary policy before
57th Winter Institute
        
 Grains prices at  0219 GMT
 Contract       Last   Change  Pct chg  Two-day chg    MA 30  RSI
 CBOT wheat   513.75     0.50   +0.10%       -2.33%   516.93   37
 CBOT corn    377.50     1.00   +0.27%       -0.66%   378.33   44
 CBOT soy     913.75     0.50   +0.05%       -0.87%   912.10   45
 CBOT rice     10.49   -$0.02   -0.14%       -0.85%   $10.59   38
 WTI crude     52.26   -$0.38   -0.72%       -3.24%   $51.34   44
 Currencies                                                      
 Euro/dlr     $1.133  -$0.001   -0.05%       -0.23%              
 USD/AUD      0.7064   -0.003   -0.49%       -0.55%              
 Most active contracts
 Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel. Rice: USD per hundredweight
 RSI 14, exponential

Source: Reuters (Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)