DES MOINES, Iowa (Agriculture.com)--Though ending mixed, short-covering helped the CME Group corn, soybean and wheat prices trim losses Friday.

The Dec. corn futures closed 4 1/4 cents lower at $6.10 1/4. The Jan. soybean contract ended unchanged at $11.68 1/4. The Dec. wheat futures closed 5 3/4 cents higher at $5.98 1/4. The Jan. soymeal futures settled $3.70 per short ton higher at $300.30. The Dec. soyoil futures closed $0.52 lower at $50.88. 

In the outside markets, the NYMEX crude oil is $1.37 per barrel lower, the dollar is unchanged and the Dow Jones Industrials are up 41 points.

Joe Bedore, FC Stone's CME Group grain floor manager, says the markets ended on a short-covering rally. 

"Once the corn got above $6.15, the traders that were short corn started buying to cover that short position. If we would have closed down below $6.10, I think the shorts would have stayed short and took that position home with them. That's all this close was about," Bedore says.

The trade still believes rallies will be sold when they show up, he says. "Traders are going to sell . They are going to sell $6.32 and $6.40 corn and $11.80 and $12.00 soybeans if they get there. The play is still to sell rallies until it stops working. 

We needed that soybean purchase today from China to provide demand support, he says.

"There's rumor now that China is going to be in the market to buy corn. As many know, every time the market breaks between 50-70 cents, China steps up. That is what the 'longs' are holding their hat on, that idea that China will come in and buy corn," Bedore says.