Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were a penny firmer across the board on Friday, following nearby soyabean contracts higher, traders said.
An outlook for robust demand for US corn through 2004/05 remains supportive as the market tries to keep pace with rising bean prices to attract farmers to plant corn this spring.
May corn was 1 cent higher at $3.00 per bushel by 10:40 a.m. CST (1640 GMT).
The March contract was up 1 cent but had popped up 4 cents early when shorts exited their positions before expiration at 12:01 pm CST.
Open interest in March had dwindled to 1,316 contracts as of Friday's open, traders said.
Old-crop soyabeans were 3 to 8 cents higher, supported by a tight stock outlook. March was up the most ahead of expiration.
Cargill Investor Services bought 500 May corn and Carr Futures sold 1,000 May, trades said.
Registrations with the CBOT late Thursday fell sharply to 588 lots from the 1,308 lots registered late on Wednesday.
Farmer selling was light on Friday and the Midwest cash basis was steady to firm. CIF corn at the US Gulf was also steady to firm.
CBOT oat futures were rangebound, down 3/4 cent to up 1/2 cent, after this week's climb in prices, traders said. May oats were up 1/2 at $1.60-1/2.
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