Chicago Board of Trade corn futures ended lower on Monday, pressured by generally favorable U.S. weather for planting and a setback in crude oil futures as worries eased about escalating tensions in the Middle East.
-Corn sometimes follows trends in crude oil due to its role as the main U.S. feedstock for ethanol fuel.
-CBOT May corn settled down 4 cents at $4.31-12 per bushel.
-U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed private sales of 165,000 metric tons of U.S. corn to Mexico, including 135,000 tons of old-crop corn and 30,000 tons of new-crop corn.
-The USDA reported export inspections of U.S. corn in the latest week at 1,331,683 metric tons, in line with trade expectations for 1,200,000 to 1,500,000 tons.