Chicago Board of Trade corn futures closed lower Friday on technical selling including fund-driven long liquidation and strong crop prospects amid mostly favorable weather in the US Midwest, traders said. CBOT July corn settled down 2-1/2 cents at $3.91-1/2 per bushel. For the week, the July contract fell 14-1/2 cents, or 3.6 percent, its biggest weekly drop since late June 2017.
Commodity funds hold a net long position in CBOT corn, leaving the market vulnerable to bouts of long liquidation. Forecasts called for above-normal temperatures in the US Midwest next week with periodic showers, generally favourable for crops.