CHICAGO, Jan 27 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures weakened on Friday on expectations that recent rains in Argentina boosted crop potential from that key South American exporter, traders said.
Wheat futures were weaker on a profit-taking setback after three straight days of gains while corn futures edged higher on hopes for stepped-up demand.
All three commodities were poised to post weekly gains, and traders expected movements to be minimal as investors square positions ahead of the weekend.
"We are just looking at the end of the week consolidation pattern," said Tom Fritz, a commodity broker at EFG Group. "I don't think anything has changed."
At 11:16 a.m. CST (1716 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade March soybean futures were down 11-1/4 cents at $15.12-1/2 a bushel.
Recent rains have brought badly needed relief to much of Argentina's parched agricultural land, the Buenos Aires Grains exchange said on Thursday, with coming rains expected to further help farmers in the planting stage amid a historic drought.
CBOT March corn was up 1/2 cent at $6.83 a bushel and CBOT March wheat was 3-1/2 cents lower at $7.49 a bushel.
For the week, wheat and corn futures were both up 1.0% while soybean futures were up 0.4%. (Additional reporting by Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris; Editing by Uttaresh.V, Krishna Chandra Eluri and Josie Kao)
