Chicago Board of Trade corn futures edged off of three-month lows on Thursday as bargain buyers stepped into the market after prices sagged 11.4 percent in a three-day skid following the US Agriculture Department's bearish harvest forecast on Monday, traders said. But forecasts for crop-boosting rain in key parts of the US Midwest during the next two weeks capped the gains.

Demand concerns also limited buying opportunities, traders said. USDA said on Thursday morning that export sales of corn totaled 363,800 tonnes in the week ended Aug. 8. Analysts' forecasts for the weekly total ranged from 200,000 to 700,000 tonnes. Corn prices closed below session highs after the benchmark CBOT December corn futures contract failed to hold support above the low end of its 20-day Bollinger range.

Copyright Reuters, 2019