CBOT corn ticks up on dry South American weather

CHICAGO, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade corn futures firmed up Thursday on hot, dry conditions expected in southern Brazil and Argentina, among the world's largest corn producers, analysts said.

• CBOT March corn CH25 settled up 1 cent at $4.59-1/2 per bushel.

• Dry, hot weather is expected to threaten the corn crop in Argentina and southern Brazil in the coming weeks, according to Commodity Weather Group.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to report weekly export sales of 800,000-1,400,000 metric tons in the week ended Dec. 26, according to a Reuters poll of analysts.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to issue its weekly report at 7:30 a.m. CST (1330 GMT) on Friday, a day later than normal due to Wednesday's federal holiday.

(Reporting by Renee Hickman in Chicago; Editing by Richard Chang)

((renee.hickman@thomsonreuters.com))