CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade corn futures fell on Monday on profit-taking and positioning ahead of a US government crop report, and as better-than-expected rains in South America soothed some concerns about recent dry weather.

News that Argentina will loosen recently-announced corn export restrictions also weighed on prices.

CBOT March corn settled 4 cents lower at $4.92-1/4 per bushel. Weekend rains topped expectations in Argentina and parts of Brazil. Worries about yield-denting dryness had helped to lift corn prices to 6-1/2 highs last week.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is due to release its latest supply-and-demand forecasts on Tuesday. Analysts expect the report to show tighter US and global stocks and possibly higher demand from China.

Good export demand tempered losses in corn. The USDA on Monday reported private sales of 108,500 tonnes of US corn to Colombia for shipment in the 2020/21 season.