CBOT corn loses ground on trade war fears

CHICAGO, March 14 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade corn futures ticked lower on Friday as concerns over trade conflicts disrupting trade flows and abundant South American supplies weighed on prices, analysts said.

• CBOT May corn CK25 settled down 6-3/4 cents to $4.58-1/2 a bushel.

• Grain markets faced pressure this week following the implementation of revised U.S. tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, which prompted the European Union and Canada to announce retaliatory duties on several U.S. goods.

• The EU package, which could see the bloc reintroduce a 25% duty on U.S. corn and potentially add a tariff on U.S. soybeans, added to concerns about disruption to exports from the country caused by President Donald Trump's tariff offensive.

• Lower estimates for corn production in key supplier Argentina may have lent some support to corn.

• Exporters sold 218,604 metric tons of U.S. corn received in the reporting period to unknown destinations for 2024-25 delivery, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a daily reporting system.