CBOT corn down on harvest progress, dry Midwest weather forecast

CHICAGO, Oct 15 (Reuters) — Chicago Board of Trade corn futures dipped on Thursday on active harvesting in parts of the Midwest and forecasts for dry weather over the coming week that should be favorable for continued gathering of what is forecast to be a massive US crop. A recent stretch of dry weather around the US Midwest has allowed farmers to accelerate harvesting of summer crops, although many growers were gathering soybeans before corn. Rains slowed the pace of field work in the western Midwest on Thursday, but a drier pattern was expected in the upcoming week, forecasters said. The USDA is due to release weekly export sales data early on Friday. Analysts surveyed by Reuters expect net US corn sales in the week ended October 8 at 500,000 to 1.2 million metric tons for shipments in the 2026/27 marketing year. CBOT December corn settled 2-3/4 cents lower at $4.78 a bushel. (Reporting by Karl Plume; Editing by Mark Porter) ((karl.plume@thomsonreuters.com; +1 313 484 5285)