Farm commodities play something of the Humpty Dumpty on Friday.

External forces did their best to put grains and oilseeds back on their feet. There were some positive mutterings among analysts too, of short-covering and the like.

But crops were, after their "great fall" over the last couple of months, having none of it. At least in midday trade in Chicago, with soybeans notably losing early gains.

Reasons to be cheerful 

The list of positive external influences went as so.

Eurozone industrial production grew at 1.7%, month on month, in January its fastest pace in 20 years.

US retail sales grew 0.3%, or 0.8% excluding cars, last month, when economists had been expecting a decline.

The result was Wall Street stocks building on 17-month highs, and the dollar falling to its lowest for a month against the euro, which came back into vogue after its punishment thanks to Greece's sovereign debt woes. A weaker dollar makes US exports, such as crops, more competitive.

"The trend following, speculative funds are mostly short the grains and oilseeds and, with a weaker US dollar and possible shift to a longer-term weaker dollar, short covering could ensue," Benson Quinn Commodities said.

Wheat ascendant

Nonetheless, a positive start soon gave way to further explorations of negative territory, apart from wheat which, in a position not seen so often these days, was "the strongest pit on the floor", in the words of Vic Lespinasse at GrainAnalyst.com.

Wheat for March was 3 cents higher at $4.71 ½ a bushel as it approached expiry at 18:00 GMT, with the May lot adding 3.25 cents to $4.82 a bushel.

That was, in percentage terms, better even than the likes of soymeal and rice, which also had something of a better day.

One reason for the decline was the US Department of Agriculture's admission of an error in trade data.

The USDA had raised hopes that Beijing buyers were not, after all, switching soybean orders from North to South America in announcing a Chinese order of 220,000 tonnes of US beans for 2009-10.

However, the order turned out to be for 2010-11, disappointing those seeking evidence of near-term demand.

"Soybeans have given back all their early gains following the USDA correction," Mr Lespinasse said as the morning progressed.

Weather factor 

Nor did weak soybeans mean strong corn, something of a play of late as investors play off the possibility of wet spring harvesting weather prompting some US farmers to shun the grain, which is planted earlier.

"The various weather models are divided regarding the outlook for next week in the Midwest with some models relatively wet, others generally dry," Mr Lespinasse said.

"Judging by the way the market is acting so far this am, the dry version seems to have more credence."

Soybeans stood 1.5 cents lower at $9.24 a bushel for the expiring March contract, with the May lot down 4 cents at $9.26 ½ a bushel.

March corn was 1.25 cents lower at $3.54 ¼ a bushel, with the May lot down 2.25 cents at $3.63 a bushel.

Sterling effort 

In Europe, wheats were mixed as stronger currencies trimmed their competitiveness on export markets.

Indeed it wasn't just the euro which rose, with sterling jumping 1% as many investors who bet on the currency continuing to drop rushed to cover short positions as the dollar softened.

Paris wheat added E0.50 to E121.75 a tonne for May delivery, with its London equivalent up £0.85 at £94.60 a tonne. London's March lot, however, slid £0.25 to £92.25 a tonne.