SINGAPORE, April 5 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean futures dropped on Friday, with prices under pressure after a U.S. weekly report showed lower export sales amid rising Brazilian shipments.
Wheat futures dropped as concerns over Russian exports eased, while corn fell for the first time in three sessions.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.2% at $11.78 a bushel, as of 0010 GMT, wheat gave up 0.1% to $5.55-1/2 a bushel and corn lost 0.1% to $4.34-3/4 a bushel.
* Soybean futures are trading close to one-month low reached earlier this week as net U.S. export sales last week were short of market expectations at 194,220 metric tons, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data released on Thursday.
* Analysts said a daily USDA sales announcement of 152,404 tons in additional sales to Mexico offered little support as Brazilian shipments are accelerating and as season-to-date U.S. sales remain about 19% below last year.
* Traders are monitoring weather in the U.S. Midwest ahead of corn planting that is due to ramp up over the coming weeks.
* While rain and snow in the central corn belt are expected to boost soil moisture reserves, there are forecasts of higher temperatures later this month that could help field work.
* Wheat prices have come under pressure after Russian grain trader Aston denied that local authorities had halted some of its exports, lessening recent concerns about slowed shipments from the world's top wheat-supplying nation.
* Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT corn and soymeal futures contracts on Thursday, net sellers of soybeans and soyoil and net even in wheat, traders said.
MARKET NEWS
* Words of caution from Federal Reserve officials on Thursday about the need to keep interest rate cuts in check until inflation clearly slows snuffed a Wall Street stock rally and sparked a rise in bond prices.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0600 Germany Industrial Orders MM Feb 0600 Germany Manufacturing O/P Cur Price SA Feb 0600 Germany Consumer Goods SA Feb 0600 UK Halifax House Prices MM, YY March 0830 UK S&P GLOBAL PMI: MSC Composite-Output March 1230 US Non-Farm Payrolls March 1230 US Unemployment Rate March (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
