Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were lower early Wednesday on continued weakness after the recent run-up tied to fund short covering, traders said. There was little news, which kept prices within a tight range before the Christmas holiday, and volume was thin. CBOT corn futures were steady to 1-1/4 cents per bushel lower by 10:50 am CST (1650 GMT). March was down 1-1/4 cent at $2.04-1/2. The March contract has seen only an 8-1/2 cent range since December 1.
Local traders were the featured players.
Underpinning the market was a huge net short position held by commodity funds, making the market vulnerable to short-covering bounces and limiting the amount of fresh speculative selling.
Overnight export business was routine. Taiwan bought 60,000 tonnes of US corn and South Korea bought up to 55,000 tonnes of optional-origin corn.
But Indonesia said on Wednesday it set a 2005 import duty on corn of 5 percent, from zero.
Midwest cash basis bids for corn early Wednesday were steady to firm due to light farmer sales, dealers said. CIF values for corn at the US Gulf were weaker as exporter demand dried up ahead of the Christmas holiday.
CBOT oat futures were also range-bound, steady to down 1/2 cent per bushel. March oats were 1/2 cent lower at $1.58-1/2 but continued to trade at 1-1/2 cents premium to May. Firm cash markets underpinned the spread, floor traders said.
CBOT grain markets will close early on Thursday, at noon CST, and will reopen on Sunday for the overnight e-cbot session.
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