Chicago soybean and corn prices fell on Friday but were set for weekly gains of around 4% with welcome rain forecast for parched U.S. crop belts.

Wheat rose, but was still down around 1% on the week, with traders weighing positive reports on U.S. crops and cheap prices offered by Black Sea exporters against rain delaying and damaging west EU harvests.

Chicago Board of Trade most-active soybeans were down 0.4% to $10.74-1/4 per bushel at 1038 GMT.

Corn was down 0.3% to $4.19-1/2 a bushel while wheat rose 0.4% to $5.40 a bushel.

Hot, dry weather previously forecast for the U.S. Midwest supported corn and soybeans this week. Up to 20% of the U.S. corn crop is likely to be stressed in the next two weeks, the Commodity Weather Group said.

"More rain is today forecast in U.S. grain belts next week which is welcome for corn and soybeans,” one European trader said. "The market is currently swinging around, reacting to U.S. weather forecasts."

Regarding wheat Commerzbank said: "The market focus remains on supply. The news situation is mixed."

Favourable U.S. harvest prospects and cheap Russian prices offered to importers are offsetting an expected drop in western European production.

French soft wheat ratings fell again, while harvesting remained well below average following repeated rain.

Scouts on an annual North Dakota crop tour on Thursday predicted the highest yields on record for U.S. spring wheat crops.

Traders noted the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Thursday reported sales of 42,300 metric tons of U.S. wheat to Italy.

"This confirmed market talk this week that U.S. wheat is competitive for sales to Europe," one German trader said. "The market is asking 'Will more U.S. wheat sales be made to the EU with the U.S. at attractive prices as rain threatens the size and volume of French, German and Polish crops?'"

(Reporting by Michael Hogan in Hamburg, additional reporting by Peter Hobson in Canberra; editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Jason Neely)