CBOT corn futures higher

Chicago Board of Trade corn futures ended fractionally higher Thursday on light bargain-buying after a three-day slide and larger-than-expected weekly export sales, traders said. CBOT December corn settled up 1/2 cent at $3.49 per bushel, paring gains in the final minutes of trade. The US Department of Agriculture reported export sales of US corn in the latest week at 1.27 million tonnes (old and new crop years combined), above a range of trade expectations for 800,000 to 1.1 million tonnes. Rallies capped by the ongoing harvest of a large US crop amid mostly dry weather in the Midwest this week.