Chicago Grain Futures Mixed on Strong Export Sales, Profit-Taking

Grain futures in Chicago Board of Trade were mixed Friday due to unexpected strong export sales and investors' profit-taking ahead of weekend.

Corn future for March delivery ended up 3 cents to 3.905 U.S. dollars a bushel. March soybean dropped 3 cents to 10.09 dollars per bushel and March wheat gained 16 cents, settled on 5.8275 dollars per bushel.

Investors saw a very strong weekly export sales report of agriculture products released by USDA on Friday morning. Net exports sales of corn for the week ending Jan. 15 was near 1. 09 million metric tons.

This was an increase of 402.5 percent from the previous week and a market year high for U.S. corn exports. Soybean was near 1.33 million metric tons, higher than the previous 4-week average by 77.4 percent. Wheat was 410,253 metric tons, an increase of 366. 6 percent from the previous week.

Boosted by the bullish sales data, grain futures rallied quickly in the early session, but retreated sharply from the high afternoon on investors' profit-taking caused by the concern of precipitation in the drought-stricken crop areas in Argentina this weekend.