By Kirk Maltais

U.S. inspections of corn set to be shipped to China was a main supporter for corn export inspection figures this week.

In its weekly export inspection report released Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that export inspections of U.S. corn totaled 1.5 million metric tons for the week ended April 15. That's down from 1.7 million tons the previous week but well above the 731,000 tons of corn inspected for export at this time last year.

China was again the leading destination for U.S. corn for the week, with over 560,000 tons of corn being sent there. Mexico, Japan, and Korea were also leading buyers of U.S. corn.

Corn futures trading on the Chicago Board of Trade are higher Monday, with the most-active contract up 1% to nearly $5.92 per bushel. Last week, corn futures broke the $6 per bushel barrier, the first time since 2013 they've done so.

To see related data, search "USDA Grain Inspections for Export in Metric Tons" in Dow Jones NewsPlus.

Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 19, 2021 11:39 ET (15:39 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.