CBOT corn slips on uncertainty over US planting progress

CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) futures ended on Monday on a negative note, amid uncertainty over US corn planting progress and the ongoing threat of US tariffs against Mexico, a top corn buyer.

* CBOT July corn settled the day down 2-3/4 cents at $4.24-1/4 a bushel. Earlier in the day, the contract dipped to $4.18-1/4 a bushel.

* May kicked off with a sharp escalation in US-China trade tensions as the two sides imposed tit-for-tat tariffs and the month ended with the United States threatening to levy duties on all Mexican imports unless it curbs illegal immigration, adding to global growth worries.

* Meanwhile, torrential rain has already slowed US corn planting to its slowest pace on record.

* Grain traders were looking ahead to the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) weekly crop progress report, issued after the market close on Monday, to see if soggy field conditions continued to blight corn and soybean planting efforts in the Midwest.

* The US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) weekly crop progress report should show that farmers were able to plant 71% of the US corn crop as of Sunday, according to the average estimate in a survey of 15 analysts on Monday.

* Trade estimates for the week ended June 2 ranged from 68% to 76%.