Chicago Board of Trade corn futures ended lower on Wednesday for a second straight session as a lack of bullish news encouraged investors to book profits following a five-year high set in the spot contract on Monday, traders said. CBOT July corn settled down 8-3/4 cents at $4.41 per bushel, two days after reaching $4.64-1/4, the highest for a spot and most-active corn contract since June 2014.
Some analysts tied the setback in futures to weather outlooks calling for drier conditions in the Midwest that could bolster crop growth. But other forecasts called for more rain.
The US Energy Information Administration said weekly US output of corn-based ethanol fell to 1.08 million barrels per day, while stocks fell for a fourth straight week, to 21.61 million barrels.
Ahead of the US Department of Agriculture's weekly export sales report on Thursday, analysts expected the government to report weekly corn sales of 300,000 to 900,000 tonnes.