CHICAGO (Dow Jones)--Friday's U.S. Department of Agriculture supply/demand data was bearish for corn and soybean futures and slightly negative for wheat futures, said traders on the agricultural trading floor at the Chicago Board of Trade.

Corn

The USDA estimated U.S. corn ending stocks at 2.419 billion bushels, up 100 million bushels from the November estimate and well above the average analyst estimate of 2.339 billion bushels. The increase in ending stocks was due to the reduction in exports by 100 million bushels to 1.9 billion. Analysts had expected a reduction in exports but some had anticipated an increase in the feed and ethanol usage to offset some of the decline. The cut in export demand is not a surprise, one floor trader said. However, the increase in China's corn production and a boost in its projected exports is not friendly, he added.

Soybeans

The USDA boosted U.S. soybean carryout by 55 million bushels to 405 million. The increase came at the expense of exports, which were reduced to 1.02 billion bushels from 1.075 billion in November. According to the USDA, U.S. export commitments through early December are at their lowest levels since 1998 as competition from South American soybean exports continues to limit U.S. trade prospects. The USDA kept its estimate of the Brazilian soybean crop at 58.5 million tons, unchanged from the November report.