Chicago Board of Trade corn futures ended higher on Friday on chart-based buying and short-covering coupled with optimism about prospects for US agricultural export sales to China, traders said. CBOT March corn settled up 4-1/4 cents at $3.83-1/2 per bushel, matching its 50-day moving average, after hitting a one-week high at $3.85.

For the week, the contract rose 2-1/4 cents a bushel or 0.6%, halting a two-week decline. Some analysts noted optimism about Chinese demand for US agricultural products. Chinese President Xi Jinping told US President Donald Trump that China would still meet its Phase 1 trade deal purchasing targets despite delays linked to the coronavirus, White House adviser Larry Kudlow told Bloomberg Television.

Fears that the fast-spreading coronavirus would hamper demand have hung over commodity markets. Rallies capped by a stronger dollar, which tends to make US grains less competitive globally. Traders monitoring forecasts for rains in parts of Brazil that could hamper the seeding of second-crop corn.

Copyright Reuters, 2020

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