CBOT corn falls on long liquidation

CHICAGO, May 7 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade corn futures turned lower on Thursday under pressure from long liquidation sparked by falling crude hopes of a truce between the U.S. and Iran.

• Managed money and speculators had taken long positions on grains earlier in the war.

• Oil prices swung between gains and losses in volatile trading on Thursday, ultimately settling lower after a report said the United States was considering restarting operations to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz as early as this week. O/R

• Falling crude oil prices also pressured corn futures.

• The war has driven massive fluctuations in oil prices, which influence agricultural markets as corn and soybean oils are widely used for the production of biofuels.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday morning reported net export sales of U.S. old-crop corn in the week ended April 30 at 1,361,700 metric tons, in line with trade expectations for 1,000,000 to 1,800,000 tons.

• CBOT July corn CN26 settled 1 cent lower to $4.67-1/2 per bushel.