CHICAGO, June 12 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade corn futures fell to contract lows on Friday due to falling crude oil prices, favorable U.S. crop weather and higher South American production forecasts before rebounding on short-covering.

• CBOT July corn CN26 settled 1 cent higher at $4.12-3/4 per bushel.

• Oil prices fell more than 3% on Friday to their lowest levels in nearly two months as U.S. and Iranian officials said they were close to an agreement to halt the war in the Middle East. O/R

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture's monthly supply/demand report on Thursday offered few major surprises.

• The agency raised its forecast of U.S. 2025/26 corn ending stocks to 2.145 billion bushels, from 2.142 billion in May, and pegged 2026/27 ending stocks at 1.960 billion bushels, up from 1.957 billion last month. Both figures were slightly above average estimates from analysts surveyed by Reuters.

• The USDA raised its forecast of global corn inventories at the end of the 2026/27 marketing year to 281.22 million metric tons, up from 277.54 million in May and above a range of trade expectations.

• The USDA also raised its estimates of 2025/26 corn production in Argentina and Brazil.