By Jesse Newman

CHICAGO--Prices of U.S. corn and soybean futures eased on Friday, as buying tapered off ahead of the holiday weekend.

Corn declined to a one-month low, closing lower despite soaring prices for crude oil, which helped shore up the corn market earlier in the day. Analysts said short-covering in the corn market petered out on Friday, as traders resumed their focus on ample world inventories and slow demand for U.S. supplies of the grain. Prices for corn had earlier been supported by investor short-covering, with some investors closing out of bearish bets in the market ahead of the long weekend in order to reduce risk in case of a major political or macroeconomic event.

"There's a lot of corn out there," said Christian Mayer, analyst at agricultural-advisory firm Northstar Commodity Investment Co., adding that lower prices for wheat, which is a substitute of corn in animal feed, also weighed on the corn market.

Corn futures for March fell 1 1/2 cents, or 0.4%, to $3.58 3/4 a bushel at the Chicago Board of Trade, the lowest closing price since Jan. 14.

Soybean prices slipped, erasing earlier gains as benevolent weather in South America, a major U.S. rival for soybean production and export, outweighed supportive features in the market, such as higher prices for soy oil. The progressing soybean harvest in South America also pressured prices, with farmers recently reporting improving yields as fieldwork continues.

"There's not of a weather problem in South America which is why we're not extending [Thursday's] rally, said Mr. Mayer. "It looks like [the South American crop] will be a very good crop."

CBOT March soybeans dipped 3/4 cent, or 0.1%, to $8.72 3/4 a bushel.

Wheat prices were mixed, with nearby futures weighed down by a higher U.S. dollar and concerns over demand for the U.S. crop.

CBOT March wheat shed 3/4 cent, or 0.2%, to $4.57 1/2 a bushel. May-dated futures were flat.

Write to Jesse Newman at jesse.newman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 12, 2016 16:35 ET (21:35 GMT)