CBOT corn ends higher in bounce from multi-month lows

CHICAGO, March 5 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade corn futures closed higher on Wednesday, bouncing from multi-month lows set a day earlier, lifted by bargain buying and optimism that U.S. tariffs against Canada and Mexico may be reduced.

• CBOT May corn CK25 settled up 4-1/4 cents at $4.55-3/4 per bushel, a day after bottoming at $4.42-1/2, the contract's lowest level since mid-December.

• New-crop December corn CZ25 ended unchanged at $4.46-3/4.

• U.S. President Donald Trump slapped 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada on Tuesday and doubled duties on Chinese goods to 20%, drawing immediate retaliatory steps from Canada and China and a pledge from Mexico to also respond.

• Trump will exempt automakers from his tariffs on Canada and Mexico for one month as long as they comply with an existing free trade agreement, and he is open to hearing about other products that should be exempted, the White House said on Wednesday.

• Ahead of Thursday's weekly export sales report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, traders expect the government to report U.S. old-crop corn sales in the week to February 27 at 700,000 to 1,000,000 metric tons.

• The U.S. Energy Information Administration said weekly production of corn-based ethanol rose in the latest week to 1.093 million barrels per day, a four-week high, while stockpiles fell to 27.289 million barrels, retreating from a near five-year peak set a week earlier. EIA/S