Chicago Board of Trade corn futures rose about 3% on Friday, more than offsetting the previous day's plunge, supported by bargain buying and expectations of a pick-up in export and domestic demand for US corn, traders said.

CBOT March corn settled up 13-3/4 cents at $3.89-1/4 per bushel.

For the week, the contract rose 3-1/2 cents per bushel, or 0.9%, halting a two-week decline.

Some traders say US corn is the cheapest in the world, a factor that should boost export business.

Commodity funds held a net short position in CBOT corn as of Jan. 7, leaving the market open to short-covering rallies.

Traders continued to mull the implications of this week's US-China trade pact. In the long-anticipated conclusion of a "Phase 1" trade deal with Washington on Wednesday, Beijing committed to increase purchases of US farm products by $32 billion over two years.

However, China's pledge to buy US agricultural goods based on "market conditions" fueled skepticism that the targets could be met, prompting broad declines in grain and livestock futures on Thursday.