CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade corn futures ended modestly firmer on Thursday, paring gains after surging to a 7-1/2 year high on news of fresh export sales of US corn to China, traders said.

CBOT March corn settled up 1/2 cent at $5.34-1/2 per bushel after rising to $5.50-1/2, the highest price on a continuous chart of the most-active contract since June 2013.

Prices dipped lower at times in a volatile trading session.