SINGAPORE, March 8 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat inched

higher on Friday, with short-covering supporting prices after

recent declines, although the market is on track for a second

week of losses on lack of demand and plentiful global supplies.

Corn is poised for a third week of gains, while soybeans are

up for a second week on positioning ahead of a monthly

supply/demand report due later in day from the U.S. Department

of Agriculture (USDA).

FUNDAMENTALS

* The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of

Trade (CBOT) added 0.1% to $5.29-1/4 a bushel, as of 0118

GMT, corn gave up 0.1% to $4.37-1/2 a bushel and soybeans

gained half a cent to $11.66-3/4 a bushel.

* For the week, wheat has lost close to 5%, corn is up

nearly 3% and soybeans have risen 1.5%.

* China cancelled purchases of 130,000 metric tons of U.S.

soft red winter wheat, the USDA said on Thursday, after prices

dropped since Chinese importers went on a buying spree last

year.

* Egypt's state grains buyer, the General Authority for

Supply Commodities cancelled an international tender for wheat

that had a deadline for offers of March 7.

* Global wheat buyers are booking cargoes for immediate

needs, buying just one or two months in advance on expectations

of bumper northern hemisphere harvest in the second half of the

year.

* Eight in 10 hectares (19.8 to 24.71 acres) of Argentine

soybean fields are in "normal to excellent" condition, the

Buenos Aires grains exchange said on Thursday, thanks to recent

rainfall over northern parts of the South American country.

* Soybean imports for top oilseed buyer China fell to a

five-year low for the first two months of the year, weighed down

by poor crushing margins and fewer ship arrivals during the

Lunar New Year holidays.

* Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT corn, soybean,

soyoil, soymeal and wheat futures contracts on Thursday, traders

said.

MARKET NEWS

* Global stock indexes rallied to record highs on Thursday,

while government bond yields fell after the European Central

Bank held interest rates steady and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome

Powell reiterated that easing was likely in 2024 if inflation

behaved.

DATA/EVENTS AHEAD (GMT)

0700 Germany Industrial Output MM, YY Jan

1000 Euro Zone GDP Revised QQ, YY Q4

1330 US Non-farm Payrolls Feb

1330 US Unemployment Rate Feb