US corn futures rallied on Friday, shrugging off early profit-taking pressure to add to a string of gains tied to continued delays in planting. Soyabean futures ended fractionally higher after a two-sided session, dogged by profit-taking ahead of the weekend, and ideas that more US farm acres will be switched to soyabeans from corn because of the corn seeding problems.
Corn prices rose to their highest since April 27 as forecasts for excessively wet weather and flooding in the Midwest next week offered support. The gains left nearby corn futures up nearly 12 percent for the week as forecasters projected further planting delays for Indiana and Ohio.
US wheat futures closed lower on profit-taking and due to thoughts that rains through the southern US Plains might benefit a drought-stressed wheat crop. Wheat experts, however, said the rain could be too little, too late for new-crop wheat in southern Kansas and Oklahoma. And despite Friday's losses, the nearby CBOT wheat contract notched the biggest weekly percentage gain - 15.8 percent - in more than three years.
"Some nervous longs got out of the market before the weekend when the outside markets like crude oil started falling and the dollar rallied," said Shawn McCambridge, analyst for Prudential Bache Commodities. Chicago Board of Trade July corn ended up 11-1/4 cents at $7.59-1/2. CBOT July soybeans closed up 3/4 cent at $13.80-1/4.
July wheat finished down 5-1/2 cents at $8.06-1/2, after rising in the opening minutes of trade as high as $8.18-1/2. Corn planting is well behind schedule due to the excessively wet conditions and more rains were forecast. From Saturday through the middle of next week, the eastern corn belt was expected to see up to 2.5 inches (6.3 cm) of rain. The poor weather has some analysts speculating that the US Department of Agriculture's latest production forecasts for the key crops are overly optimistic. But some traders suggested that improved prospects in the Black Sea region and North Africa might help offset losses elsewhere and could be a factor in profit-taking.
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