Chicago Board of Trade corn futures ended higher on Thursday on technically driven buying as the May contract held above chart support at its 50-day moving average for a third straight session, traders said. CBOT May corn settled up 1 cent at $3.76 per bushel.
Worries about declining Argentine crop estimates lent support. The Buenos Aires Grains Exchange lowered its estimate of the country's corn crop to 32 million tonnes, from 34 million previously. Private analytics firm Informa Economics cut its forecast of 2018 US corn plantings to 88.9 million acres, from 89.179 million previously. The US Department of Agriculture delayed its weekly export sales report until Friday due to inclement weather delays in the Washington, D.C., area.