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Chicago Board of Trade corn futures dropped 1.4% on Tuesday, hitting a 10-1/2-year low on pressure from slumping energy markets and weakening demand for ethanol as the coronavirus pandemic slashed fuel usage, traders said.
Corn closed above its session lows on a round of bargain buying after the most-active contract bottomed out at $3.09 a bushel, its lowest on a continuous basis since Sept. 11, 2009.
The benchmark CBOT July futures contract closed above the low end of its 20-day Bollinger range.
Outlooks for good planting weather in the US Midwest added to the bearish tone in corn. The US Agriculture Department on Monday afternoon said that farmers had seeded 7% of their corn crop as of April 19, in line with market forecasts.