Chicago Board of Trade corn futures ended fractionally higher on Thursday as export demand and bullish monthly US government crop data lifted the benchmark March contract to three-month top, traders said. Futures pared gains and dipped lower near the close, pressured by profit-taking and farmer selling.
CBOT March corn settled up 1/2 cent at $3.65-3/4 per bushel after touching $3.67-3/4, its highest since October 25. The US Department of Agriculture in a monthly report lowered its forecast of US 2017/18 corn ending stocks to 2.352 billion bushels, below a range of trade expectations, citing strong export demand for US supplies.
The USDA also cut its estimate of Argentina's corn crop to 39 million tonnes, from 42 million in January, citing persistent heat and dryness. Brazil's crop agency, Conab, cut its estimate of the country's total 2017/18 corn production to 88 million tonnes, from 92.34 million last month. The USDA reported weekly export sales of US corn at 1,769,600 tonnes, near the high end of trade expectations of 1.3 million to 1.8 million tonnes.