Corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade fell more than 1 percent on Friday as investors liquidated holdings in many commodities, from oil to wheat to lean hogs, on worries of slowing global economic growth, traders said. Overall plentiful global grain supplies also weighed while some investors took profits in corn, after prices earlier rose to the highest levels in seven sessions. Losses in corn also were smaller than those in wheat and soybeans amid worries that US corn production will be below lofty expectations forecast by the US Department of Agriculture.
On a continuous chart, corn gained 0.4 percent for the week, rebounding from roughly two-month lows last week after the USDA boosted its production forecast on August 12 in a report in which analysts predicted lower production. Pro Farmer after the close of trading estimated the US corn crop at 13.323 billion bushels on an average yield of 164.3 bushels per acre, each below the respective USDA forecast of 13.686 billion bushels and 168.8 bpa. The Pro Farmer forecast followed the advisory's annual crop tour through seven states in the Midwestern crop belt. China's imports of corn and corn substitutes, including barley, sorghum and distillers' grain (DDGS) hit a record high in July as feed mills took advantage of cheap overseas prices to replace expensive domestic grain.