CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade corn futures closed firm on Thursday, supported by a fresh export sale to China, traders said. The most-active contract hit its highest on a continuous basis since July 10. But gains were limited by expectations supplies will remain plentiful despite the rising export view and concerns about crop damage from a recent wind storm in Iowa.

Private exporters reported the sale of 747,000 tonnes of corn to China and 140,000 tonnes of corn to unknown destinations for delivery in the 2020/21 marketing year, the US Agriculture Department said on Thursday morning.

Export sales of corn totaled 1.451 million tonnes in the week ended Aug. 20, USDA said in a separate report. That was near the high end of trade forecasts that ranged from 700,000 tonnes to 1.5 million tonnes.