Chicago Board of Trade corn futures ended slightly higher on Monday, supported by technical buying and a slow pace of harvest in the United States.
The harvest slowdowns stemmed from a blizzard in the northern US Midwest. The heavy snowfall threatened to force farmers to leave some of their corn crop unharvested until the spring, which could reduce yields.
Analysts were expecting a US Agriculture Department report on Monday afternoon to show that corn harvest was 89% complete as of Dec. 1, just 5 percentage points more than a week earlier.
The benchmark CBOT March corn futures contract found technical support at its 10-day moving average. On a continuous basis, the most-active contract peaked at its highest level since Nov. 6. Buying was capped by concerns about demand.
A USDA report released on Monday morning showed that corn export inspections fell to 428,856 tonnes in the week ended Nov. 28, from 615,968 tonnes a week earlier. Analysts' forecasts had ranged from 500,000 tonnes to 700,000 tonnes.
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