Grain futures - weekly outlook: October 20 - 24

Investing.com - U.S. corn and soybean futures edged lower on Friday, amid speculation beneficial weather in the U.S. Midwest will speed up the pace of the harvest.

On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, U.S. corn for December delivery shed 4.2 cents, or 1.21%, on Friday to settle the week at $3.4800 a bushel by close of trade.

Updated weather forecasting models called for mostly dry conditions across the Midwest over the next 10 days, which should allow farmers to accelerate the pace of the harvest.

Despite Friday's losses, the December corn contract rose 14.0 cent, or 4.02%, the third straight weekly gain.

Futures rallied to a five-week high of $3.5820 on Wednesday as a slowdown in the U.S. harvest due to rains in the Midwest supported prices.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday that nearly 24% of the U.S. corn harvest was completed as of October 12, below the five-year average of 43% for this time of year.

Meanwhile, U.S. soybeans for November delivery dropped 14.6 cents, or 1.53%, on Friday to settle at $9.5160 a bushel by close of trade.

Despite Friday's disappointing performance, the November soybean contract tacked on 29.2 cents, or 3.06%, the third consecutive weekly rise.

According to the USDA, approximately 40% of the U.S. soy harvest was completed as of last week, compared to the five-year average of 53% for this time of year.

Elsewhere on the Chicago Board of Trade, U.S. wheat for December delivery declined 1.0 cent, or 0.19%, on Friday to end the week at $5.1600 a bushel.

Prices of the grain rose to a session high of $5.2220 earlier in the day, the most since September 10.

On the week, the December wheat contract tacked on 17.6 cents, or 3.41%, the fourth consecutive weekly rise.

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.