CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade corn futures rose to their highest level in nearly 16 months on Wednesday on strong export demand and spillover support from higher soybean futures.

Concerns about dry conditions in parts of South America were also supportive as US export shipments would likely benefit.

CBOT December corn notched a contract high during the session and ended up 5-1/2 cents at $4.25-3/4 per bushel. The contract reached the highest level for a most-active contract since July 2019.

Traders are watching for any signs of Chinese demand for US corn. China's purchases this year are already at a record high.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Wednesday said private exporters sold 140,000 tonnes of US corn to undisclosed buyers. That followed recent large corn sales to Mexico and South Korea. The USDA is due to release weekly export sales data early on Thursday. Analysts, on average, expect corn sales at 600,000 to 1,000,000 tonnes.- Reuters