Chicago Board of Trade corn futures slumped on Thursday on renewed concerns that the United States and China remain far apart in negotiations aimed at ending the trade war, traders said. CBOT March corn was down 3-1/2 cents at $3.76-1/2 per bushel. The contract fell below several key moving averages during the session, which accelerated selling.
Investors also squared positions ahead of a long list of US Department of Agriculture (USDA) crop reports scheduled for release on Friday. Some of the data was delayed by the recent partial US government shutdown. News that US President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping are unlikely to meet during upcoming trade talks dashed hopes that the two sides were progressing on a deal to end a bitter trade fight that has slashed Chinese purchases of US agricultural products.
Earlier on Thursday, White House adviser Larry Kudlow said in an interview on Fox Business Network that there was a sizable distance to go in US-China trade talks. Improving South American weather weighed on corn prices as Brazil is preparing to plant a large second crop of corn. The USDA said exporters sold 503,100 tonnes of US corn in the week ended December 27.