Changes dateline from PARIS/BEIJING to CHICAGO, updates for market open

By Heather Schlitz

CHICAGO, June 12 (Reuters) - Chicago corn, soy and wheat futures firmed on Friday on short covering ahead of the weekend, traders said, though favourable U.S. crop weather and higher South American production forecasts maintained supply pressure, according to analysts.

The most-active corn contract Cv1 on the Chicago Board of Trade was last 4-3/4 cents higher at $4.16-1/2 per bushel as of 9:30 a.m. CT (1430 GMT). CBOT soybeans Sv1 rose 3-1/2 cents to $11.18-1/2 a bushel, while CBOT wheat Wv1 rose 6-1/4 cents to $5.93 per bushel.

"I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that it's Friday and the market has been oversold," said Jack Scoville, vice president of Price Futures Group. "It looks to me like we're getting short covering and new buying going into the weekend."

Oil prices fell nearly 3% on Friday to their lowest in nearly two months after U.S. President Donald Trump cancelled new strikes on Iran, easing fears that hostilities may escalate following tit-for-tat attacks earlier in the week. O/R

A memorandum between the United States and Iran to halt the war in the Gulf could be signed as soon as Sunday, a Western source told Reuters on Friday, with Geneva emerging as the likeliest venue.

Corn and soybeans often follow crude oil prices, as both are used as feedstock for biofuels.

Soybeans continued to hover near a four-month low, with the drop in crude oil curbing oilseed prices.

In a widely followed monthly world report, the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday increased its forecasts for this season's corn output in Argentina and Brazil, as well as soybean production in Argentina.

The USDA also raised its projection of global corn inventories at the end of 2026/27 to above a range of trade expectations.

In wheat, the agency cut its outlook for the U.S. harvest to the lowest in decades following drought, but nudged up its forecast of global supplies.