CANBERRA, Sept 17 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat futures rose on Friday to linger near their highest level in more than a week as traders focused on global supply risks, pushing the grain towards weekly gains of nearly 4%.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The most-active wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.1% at $7.13-1/4 a bushel, as of 0204 GMT, having closed 0.1% higher on Thursday when prices hit a Sept. 8 high of $7.16-3/4 a bushel.
* Wheat climbed nearly 4%, set for its biggest weekly gain in five.
* Soybean futures up 0.5% for the week, the first weekly gain in three weeks.
* Corn futures up more than 2% for the week, poised for the first weekly gain in three.
* Strategie Grains sharply lowered its projection for world output, partly due to a reduced estimate for the European Union.
* Statistics Canada issued lower-than-expected estimates for Canadian wheat production, while France reduced its soft wheat crop estimate. In Russia, analysts said farmers are expected to sow less winter wheat for next year's harvest.
* The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that China bought 132,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans after canceling the same volume on Wednesday.
* The USDA on Thursday reported U.S. corn export sales in the week ended Sept. 9 were 248,900 tonnes, below trade expectations. Weekly U.S. soybean sales of 1,266,200 tonnes were in line with estimates.
MARKET NEWS
* The dollar held near three-week highs against a basket of major currencies on Friday after a raft of strong U.S. economic data rekindled expectations for earlier policy tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
* Oil prices steadied on Thursday after hitting a multi-week high a day earlier as the threat to U.S. Gulf crude production from Hurricane Nicholas receded.
* Global share markets edged lower globally on Thursday as concerns about investments in China and a mixed day on Wall Street outweighed positive economic data in the United States.
(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
