Chicago Board of Trade corn futures stumbled on Tuesday on technical selling and pressure from ample inventories, traders said. CBOT May corn closed 3-3/4 cents lower at $3.59 per bushel. The contract set its lowest price in a week. The US Department of Agriculture said late on Monday the US corn crop was 3 percent planted, behind
the five-year average of 5 percent. Wet weather has slowed planting in parts of the Delta region and Midwest, and more rain is expected to delay planting in areas later this week, according to weather forecasters.
However, traders said they were not overly worried about planting delays because there is still time to put the crop in the ground without reducing yields. Taiwan's MFIG corn purchasing group has issued an international tender to buy around 65,000 tonnes of corn, European traders said. The tender closes on April 17, and the corn can be sourced from the United States, Brazil, Argentina or South Africa.