US corn futures closed lower on Wednesday, with the front month settling below $4 a bushel for the first time in 10 months on fears that a recession could slow demand for commodities including grains, traders said. Recession worries also hammered crude oil futures and US stock markets, with the Dow Jones industrial average ending down 733 points.
CBOT December corn ended down 23-1/4 cents at $3.88 per bushel; March down 23-1/2 at $4.05-1/2. Funds were net sellers of 7,000 contracts, traders said. Rain in the western US Corn Belt slowed harvesting, but clear conditions expected by Thursday. Cash basis bids for corn firmed at processor locations in US Midwest as harvest selling lagged.
USDA said 21 percent of US corn crop was harvested by Sunday, up from 14 percent a week earlier but below the five-year average of 41 percent. After the close, the Argentine government cut its estimate of 2008/09 corn area to 3.4 million hectares, from 3.5 million last month.
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