BEIJING - Chicago soybeans rose on Friday, and were on track for a weekly gain, as traders positioned ahead of a closely watched U.S. government crop report and awaited the resumption of export data releases that could provide clues into Chinese buying.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) added 0.24% to $11.49-3/4 a bushel as of 0524 GMT, hovering near its highest since June 2024.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is scheduled to release its first global supply and demand outlook since September later in the day.

"Soybean prices have risen on expectations that the upcoming USDA report will lower the yield forecast for U.S. soybeans in the 2025-26 season, while raising export projections," said Wan Chengzhi, analyst at Capital Jingdu Futures.

"However, a key concern is that China currently imposes a 13% tariff on U.S. soybeans. At this rate, South American soybeans are more cost-competitive, which limits commercial demand for U.S. soybeans."

The agency will also release a six-week summary of daily U.S. agricultural sales on the day, offering clarity on China's recent U.S. soybeans buying.

Reuters has previously reported that China has begun modest purchases of U.S. farm goods, but Beijing has not confirmed the White House's announcement of 12 million metric tons of soybean purchases by year-end.

In other grains, corn dipped 0.11% to $4.41 a bushel and wheat added 0.41% to $5.54-1/2 a bushel. Both were poised for weekly gains.

Meanwhile, Brazilian government supply agency Conab raised its estimate of the country's total 2025-26 corn output to 138.84 million metric tons from 138.28 million in October.

It forecast a record soybean crop of 177.6 million tons in the 2025-2026 harvest year.

Argentina also boosted its wheat outlook, with the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange raising its estimate of the country's wheat harvest to 24 million metric tons from 22 million earlier, and the Rosario Exchange forecasting a record output of 24.5 million tons.