SINGAPORE: Chicago wheat futures gained more ground on Friday, with the market poised for its biggest weekly climb in a month, as concerns over crop losses in the Black Sea region and other exporting countries supported prices.

Corn futures and soybeans also strengthened.

Dry weather in the Black Sea region is curbing yield potential for the world's cheapest wheat suppliers, according to a report by Rabobank. "Meanwhile, production issues are also prominent for corn in Argentina, Ukraine, and the U.S."

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.7% at $7.03 a bushel, as of 0242 GMT, taking the weekly gain in prices to nearly 8%.

Corn added 0.4% to $4.65-3/4 a bushel and soybeans rose 0.1% to $12.40-3/4 a bushel. For the week, corn has risen 2.9% while soybeans were up more than 1%.

Lower forecasts for Russia's wheat production have fuelled a rally in the wheat market, which jumped to its highest levels in 10 months this week. There are worries over adverse weather in other major producers such as Ukraine, Australia, France and Germany.

The International Grains Council cut its forecast for 2024/25 global wheat production on Thursday, with the outlook for key Black Sea producers - Russia and Ukraine - downgraded.

The inter-governmental body, in its monthly update, trimmed its 2024/25 world wheat crop outlook by 3 million metric tons to 795 million tons.

Germany's wheat crop will shrink by 5.6% this year to 20.31 million metric tons, the country's association of farm cooperatives said in its latest harvest estimate on Thursday, continuing forecasts of reduced crops.

Corn futures were supported by doubts over South American production.

Soybean farmers in Brazil's southernmost state, where rain and flooding have disrupted field work for weeks, have now harvested 91% of their soy area, up from 85% last week, crop agency Emater said on Thursday.

Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT corn futures on Thursday and net sellers of soybean, soyoil, wheat and soymeal futures, traders said. (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)