CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade corn futures closed lower on Thursday, pressured by a disappointing export report from the US government, traders said.

Corn futures also were weighed down by profit-taking as the benchmark May contract neared its weekly high.

CBOT May corn dropped below its 10-day and 20-day moving averages before finding support at its 30-day moving average, a level it has not closed below since Dec. 8.

Weekly corn export sales fell to an eight-month low of 599,100 tonnes, the US Agriculture Department said. Trade forecasts ranged from 550,000 to 1.6 million tonnes.

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