Chicago Board of Trade corn futures were narrowly lower on Thursday, easing following two straight sessions of gains as investors squared up positions ahead of a government crop report due on Friday, traders said. Corn posted smaller declines than soybean and wheat futures, which eased 0.7 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.
The US Department of Agriculture on Friday was expected to show smaller US corn plantings and larger supplies than in 2016, according to analysts polled by Reuters. USDA data earlier on Thursday showed weekly US corn export sales of 716,000 tonnes for shipment during the current marketing season, below estimates for 900,000 to 1.2 million tonnes.