* CBOT March corn settled 2 cents higher at $3.78-1/4 per bushel. The contract held chart support at its 100-day moving average but could not break through chart resistance at its 20- and 50-day averages.
* The benchmark March contract fell 1.2 percent in the week, its fourth weekly drop in five weeks.
* Traders are watching for any corn demand from China following promises by Beijing to purchase "a significant amount" of US agricultural goods and other products.
* The market is also monitoring South American weather
following hot and dry weather in Brazil and excessive rains in Argentina.
* The US Department of Agriculture would have normally published a fresh crop forecast on Friday but updates have been postponed indefinitely due to the government shutdown.