Chicago Board of Trade corn futures ended higher on Friday on technical buying including fund short-covering and support from fresh export demand, traders said. CBOT December corn settled up 4-3/4 cents at $3.57-1/4 per bushel. For the week, the contract rose 5-1/2 cents or 1.6 percent. The US Department of Agriculture said private exporters sold 121,700 tonnes of US corn to unknown destinations for delivery in the 2018/19 marketing year that began September 1.
Commodity funds hold a sizable net short position in CBOT corn, leaving the market vulnerable to bouts of short covering. Rains slowed the corn and soy harvest in the northwestern Midwest this week, although the weekend should be mostly dry. AgRural consultancy estimated that Brazilian farmers had planted first-crop corn on 24 percent of expected area, above the five-year average of 19 percent. AgRural said favorable weather conditions have allowed for a quick start for soy and corn planting.