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Chicago Board of Trade corn futures fell to life-of-contract lows on Friday on worries over the global spread of coronavirus, but pared the losses in a short-covering bounce, traders said.
Global stocks and oil prices fell sharply and US Treasury yields hit record lows as traders fretted over the economic impact of the virus, which has infected about 80,000 people globally and killed more than 2,700.
Actively traded May corn fell to a contract low of $3.65-3/4 a bushel, the lowest for a most-active contract since November 20.
May futures ended the week down 3.3%, the contract's steepest weekly drop in 5-1/2 months.
All corn contracts except for March 2020 and July 2021 posted new contract lows during Friday's session.