CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade corn futures closed lower on Tuesday on a round of profit-taking after the benchmark December contract touched a six-month high, and as forecasts called for favorable harvest weather in the US Midwest, traders said.

CBOT December corn settled down 3-1/2 cents at $3.66 per bushel one day after reaching $3.71, the contract's highest since mid-March.

Forecasts called for generally dry and warm weather in the US Midwest over the next two weeks, likely accelerating the harvest of what is expected to be a large corn crop.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) late Monday said the corn harvest was 5% complete, in line with trade expectations and the five-year average.

Traders largely shrugged off a decline in US crop ratings. The USDA rated 60% of the corn crop in good-to-excellent condition, down from 61% last week, while analysts on average had expected no change.

Export demand helped underpin futures. The USDA on Tuesday confirmed sales of 120,000 tonnes of US corn to unknown destinations.