Corn futures extend losses with US rain forecasts, hefty Brazil crop

CHICAGO, July 22 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade corn futures ended lower on Tuesday, extending previous session losses as the market was weighed down by forecasts for crop-friendly rain in U.S. grain belts this week, traders said.

• New-crop CBOT December CZ25 ended the day down 4-1/4 cents, settling at $4.18 a bushel.

• Traders had been concerned that high temperatures in the U.S. Midwest would damage yields, but after a brief burst of heat mid-week, showers are expected to limit crop stress, said Commodity Weather Group.

• This summer's spate of hot weather and frequent rains has created a greenhouse-like effect, boosting corn prospects. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday rated 74% of the U.S. corn crop, unchanged from the previous week but the highest assessment for corn at this time of year since 2016.

• The corn market also continued to feel some pressure from Monday's report from agribusiness consultancy AgRural, which increased its estimate for Brazil's total 2024/25 corn production to 136.3 million tons, up from 130.6 million tons, market analysts said.

• The larger forecast has some traders wondering if South America's marketing window could push deeper-than-normal into the U.S.'s normal global export sales window this fall, analysts said. But Brazil's domestic demand, particularly grain for ethanol production, may offset that concern, two traders said.

• South Korea's Major Feedmill Group (MFG) has issued an international tender to purchase up to 140,000 metric tons of animal feed corn, European traders said on Tuesday.