Corn futures shed 1% as dollar strengthens

Corn futures fell over one percent in American trade as the dollar index rose for the fifth session in seven from the lowest since late 2014, following an array of data from the US, the world's largest corn producer and exporter. 

As of 08:34 GMT, corn futures due on December 15 fell 1.29% to $3.4450 from the opening of $3.4900, while the dollar index rose 0.47% to 93.70 from the opening of 93.27. 

US existing home sales rose 0.7% in September to an annualized 5.39 million units, compared to a 1.7% decline in August to 5.35 million, while analysts expected a 0.9% drop to 5.30M, as President Donald Trump continues to meet with potential candidates for the Federal Reserve Chair job in February. 

The US Department of Agriculture's report on corn sales for the week ending October 19 showed exporters sold 1.25 million metric tonnes to foreign buyers, down 2.1% from the previous week, while up 58% from the four-week average, besting expectations of between 0.7 and 1.4 million tonnes. 

Mexico came at the top of the list with a 510.1 thousand purchase, then Japan at 233.8 thousand, and Honduras at 132.2 thousand, then Peru and Colombia at 117.2K and 98.1K respectively. 

The USDA's October report on global agriculture demand and supply raised expectations for productivity per donam by 1.9 bushels to 171.8 bushels per donam, compared to expectations of 169.8 bushels, with the USDA now forecasting total production for the year ending next August at 2,340 million bushels, up from 2,335 million in September forecasts, while analysts expected 2,251 million.