SINGAPORE, March 1 (Reuters) - Chicago soybeans were largely flat on Friday, with the market trading close to a three-year low reached in the previous session, as prices came under pressure from large South American supplies and lacklustre demand for U.S. cargoes.
The wheat market faced headwinds from ample Black Sea supplies.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) added half a cent to $11.41-1/4 a bushel, as of 0148 GMT. The market dropped to its weakest since November 2020 at $11.28-1/2 a bushel on Thursday.
* Corn fell 0.2% $4.28-1/2 a bushel and wheat lost 0.3% to $5.74-3/4 a bushel.
* For the week, corn is up 3.6%, the market's first weekly rise in a month, wheat has added little over 1% and soybeans are largely flat.
* Short-covering by speculative investors had helped grain markets bounce off lows, but plentiful supply in the Americas and the Black Sea region is likely to keep a lid on prices.
* The Buenos Aires grains exchange on Thursday left its forecasts unchanged for the 2023/24 corn and soybean harvest, halting a series of cuts in its estimates as recent rains provided relief to crops.
* The grains exchange kept at 52.5 million metric tons its forecast for the soybean harvest, while corn estimates remained at 56.5 million tons.
* Industry association Abiove cut its estimate for Brazil's 2024 soybean output for the second time this month to 153.8 million metric tons due to adverse weather.
* But Brazilian production would still be close to last year's record crop of around 159 million tons.
* Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT corn, wheat and soymeal futures contracts on Thursday, and net sellers of soybean futures, traders said. Funds were net even in soyoil, they said.
MARKET NEWS
* The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at record highs and the global equity index advanced on Thursday after a much-anticipated U.S. inflation reading provided little surprise for relieved investors and helped push U.S. Treasury yields lower.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0130 China NBS Manufacturing PMI Feb 0145 China Caixin Mfg PMI Final Feb 0700 UK Nationwide house price MM, YY Feb 0850 France HCOB Manufacturing PMI Feb 0855 Germany HCOB Manufacturing PMI Feb 0900 EU HCOB Mfg Final PMI Feb 0930 UK S&P Global Mfg PMI Feb 1000 EU HICP Flash YY Feb 1000 EU HICP-X F, E, A&T MM, YY Feb 1000 EU Unemployment Rate Jan 1445 US S&P Global Mfg PMI Final Feb 1500 US ISM Manufacturing PMI Feb 1500 US U Mich Sentiment Final Feb (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
