CBOT corn rises as rain slows US harvest; China demand hopes

CHICAGO, Sept 21 (Reuters) — Chicago Board of Trade corn futures advanced on Monday on hopes for potential Chinese demand and as rain hampered US harvests, traders said. Traders were watching for potential US-China trade deals that may include Chinese purchases of American grain as a result of a summit expected on Thursday between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. Rain has disrupted US harvests in some areas of the Midwest and delayed an influx of new supplies, analysts said. Analysts polled, on average, expect the US Department of Agriculture to report on Monday that the corn harvest was 13% complete. That would be one point slower than the five-year average for this point of the season. US corn condition ratings likely remained unchanged from last week, analysts said. CBOT December corn ended up 15-1/2 cents at $5.43 per bushel. (Reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago; Editing by David Gregorio) ((Thomas.Polansek@thomsonreuters.com)