SINGAPORE, April 5 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean futures edged
lower on Friday but the market is poised for its biggest weekly
gain since early January on expectations of a U.S.-China trade
deal.
    Wheat and corn futures are also on track for weekly gains.
    
    FUNDAMENTALS
    * The Chicago Board of Trade most-active soybean contract
 has risen 2.1 percent this week, the biggest since the
week ending Jan. 4, while corn is up 2.2 percent,
recouping some of last week's deep losses.
    * Wheat is up 2.1 percent this week after closing 1.8
percent lower last week.
    * U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday the United
States and China were getting very close to a trade deal that
could be announced within four weeks, but he issued a warning to
Beijing that, absent a pact, it would be difficult to allow
trade to continue. 
    * U.S. officials have cited progress in the talks on tricky
aspects, including reforming practices such as intellectual
property theft and forced transfer of technology from U.S.
companies doing business in China.
    * The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday said weekly
soybean export sales totalled 1.992 million tonnes, topping a
range of trade forecasts.
    * The report showed soybean export sales to China in the
week were 1.700 million tonnes, up from zero the previous week.
    * Wheat export sales also were bigger than expected,
totaling 1.018 million tonnes, while corn export sales of
630,200 tonnes fell below the low end of a range of analysts'
expectations.
    * Argentina's soybean harvest has progressed at a brisk pace
over recent days, showing "excellent" yields that could push the
crop higher than the currently forecast 53 million tonnes, the
Buenos Aires Grains exchange said in a report on Thursday.

    * Average yields were running higher than 4.3 tonnes per
hectare in the central Pampas farm belt, the crop report said.
    
    MARKET NEWS
    * Asian share markets consolidated weekly gains on Friday as
Sino-U.S. talks dragged on with no concrete conclusions, while
caution ahead of U.S. payrolls and a holiday in China and Hong
Kong dampened volatility.
    
    DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0600      Germany     Industrial Output    MM  Feb
0730      UK          Halifax House Prices MM  March
1230      US          Non-Farm Payrolls        March
1230      US          Unemployment Rate        March
1230      US          Average Earnings     YY  March
1230      France      Reserve Assents Total    March
1900      Federal Reserve issues Consumer Installment 
Credit for February
    
 Grains prices at  0113 GMT
 Contract    Last    Change  Pct chg  Two-day chg  MA 30   RSI
 CBOT wheat  466.75  -4.00   -0.85%   +0.59%       460.38  51
 CBOT corn   364.25  -1.00   -0.27%   +0.76%       370.83  42
 CBOT soy    902.75  -3.75   -0.41%   +0.31%       904.18  53
 CBOT rice   10.53   -$0.03  -0.24%   -2.50%       $10.79  28
 WTI crude   62.09   -$0.01  -0.02%   -0.59%       $58.58  
 Currencies                                                
 Euro/dlr    $1.122  $0.001  +0.09%   +0.04%               
 USD/AUD     0.7115  0.000   +0.06%   +0.30%               
 Most active contracts
 Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel. Rice: USD per
 hundredweight
 RSI 14, exponential
 
 (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; editing by Richard Pullin)