CBOT corn sags in late trade on technical selling

CHICAGO: Corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade erased early gains by the closing bell on Thursday on a late round of technical selling, traders said.

* Hedge-related selling added pressure as the harvest expanded amid favorable weather in the US Midwest and some producers took advantage of firming cash basis bids - traders.

* Corn futures spent much of the day in positive territory on a recovery after the market fell to a near 10-month low this week.

* A weaker dollar and a 3 percent rise in US crude oil futures helped support grains. Crude advanced as Europe moved closer to pumping aid to the region's troubled banks and US data showed weekly jobless benefit claims rose less than expected.

* Trade was light, with volume in corn futures about 15 percent below the prior 30-day average.

* Brazil's 2011/12 corn crop was forecast to rise to 57.33-58.99 million tonnes, from 57.5 million last year, Brazilian government agency Conab said.

* USDA reported export sales of US corn in the latest week at 1,291,200 tonnes (old- and new-crop combined), above a range of trade estimates for 750,000 to 1 million tonnes.

* Argentina hopes to sign a deal with China in November that would clear the way for corn exports to the Asian country, Agriculture Secretary Lorenzo Basso said.

Copyright Reuters, 2011