CBOT corn nears one-month top, climbing after Trump pauses most tariffs

CHICAGO, April 9 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade corn futures ended firmer on Wednesday and the most-active May contract CK25 reached its highest in nearly a month after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause in many of the tariffs unveiled last week.

• CBOT May corn CK25 settled up 5 cents at $4.74 a bushel after reaching $4.75-1/2, the contract's highest since March 11, shortly after Trump's announcement.

• Trump said he would raise the tariff on Chinese imports to 125%, but at the same time said he would suspend targeted tariffs on other countries for 90 days to allow time for U.S. officials to negotiate.

• European Union counter-tariffs on U.S. goods starting next week had been set to halt a large flow of U.S. corn to Europe.

• Meanwhile, Asian buyers have been reducing purchases of U.S. agricultural goods as Washington's planned fees on China-linked vessels stoked uncertainty and dampened appetite for American products.

• U.S. farmers are in the early stages of planting corn, with 2% seeded nationally as of Sunday.

• Showers expected through Thursday will slow drying in the Mississippi River Delta and Ohio Valley, and the outlook for the next two weeks is still wet, the Commodity Weather Group said in a client note.

• The U.S. Energy Information Administration said weekly production of corn-based ethanol fell in the latest week to 1.021 million barrels per day, a two-month low, while stockpiles rose to 27.034 million barrels. EIA/S

• Market players await Thursday's monthly supply/demand report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.