CHICAGO, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains closed mixed on Friday, with soybeans slightly higher on strong overseas demand for U.S. agricultural products.
Corn futures prices slipped after U.S. Department of Agriculture(USDA) export sales figures came in ahead of analysts' expected range and following promising weather forecasts for South American crops.
Wheat contracts also edged lower, as traders set aside concerns over the potential for bitterly cold temperatures to inflict lasting damage on wheat crops across North American growing regions.
The most active corn contract for March delivery went down 1.25 cents, or 0.36 percent, to 3.5075 dollars per bushel. March wheat delivery fell 0.75 cent, or 0.18 percent, to 4.27 dollars per bushel. March soybeans added 5 cents, or 0.52 percent to 9.6175 dollars per bushel.
Official data released by USDA showed U.S. private traders exported 17.6 million bushels of wheat, 49 million bushels of corn, and 35.8 million bushels of soybeans for the week ending Dec.21. Enditem
