SINGAPORE - Corn futures jumped in Chicago, after the biggest slump in six weeks lured importers and investors amid speculation that China, the world's second-largest user, will sustain purchases.

March-delivery corn rallied as much as 3 percent to $5.645 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade after plunging 5.2 percent on Friday. The contract traded at $5.5925 at 3:36 pm Singapore time on Monday.

"It's a bit of a rebound from last Friday's prices," Wayne Gordon, a senior analyst at Rabobank Groep NV, said by phone from Sydney. "On a fundamentals basis, clearly the balances are still tightening and are likely to be tighter for longer. So that should be, all else being equal, supportive of prices."