CBOT corn retreats on farmer selling, dollar strength

CHICAGO, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade corn futures fell on Friday as a flurry of farmer sales took place in the U.S. and South America, according to analysts, and the U.S. dollar headed for weekly gains.

• CBOT March corn CH25 settled down 8-3/4 cents at $4.50-3/4 per bushel.

• For the week, most-active corn Cv1 declined by 0.72%.

• Corn was pressured by weekly gains for the U.S. dollar, even though the currency dipped for the day, analysts said. A strong dollar tends to make U.S. exports more expensive and less attractive to holders of other currencies.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported weekly export sales for the week ended Dec. 26 at 777,000 metric tons, beneath trade expectations for 800,000-1,400,000 metric tons, according to a Reuters poll of analysts.

• A hot, dry austral summer is beginning to cause damage to Argentina's 2024/25 soybean and corn crops, the country's two main grains exchanges said on Friday.

(Reporting by Renee Hickman in Chicago; Editing by Nia Williams)

((renee.hickman@thomsonreuters.com))