Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade closed lower on Wednesday on fund selling and active seedings of the US corn crop, traders said. CBOT corn closed unchanged to 1-1/4 cents per bushel lower, with May down 1 at $2.32-1/4 per bushel. July was down 1 at $2.42-1/2.
"The overall scenario for corn plantings is good so there will be plenty of corn planted this year," said Jerry Gidel, analyst for North America Risk Management Inc.
Traders estimated that funds sold 6,000 lots of corn on Wednesday. Floor traders also said corn was pressured by unwinding of corn/soyabean spreads, yet corn found some underpinning from corn/wheat spreading.
Corn futures also were buffeted by volatile outside markets on Wednesday. Profit-taking hit the crude oil market hard and gold markets raced to fresh 25-year highs early on Wednesday but began falling on profit-taking. The corn market held firm at the open of trade on Wednesday but began sagging when gold and crude started to crumble.
Corn market traders and analysts keep pointing to bearish short-term fundamentals from large stocks of feed grains and active seedings of the 2006 US crop despite occasional rainfall in parts of the Midwest.
Showers this week will slow seedings of the US corn and soyabean crops and farmers probably will face continued delays next week, a private forecaster said on Wednesday.
"It will be a little cooler and wetter than normal next week, there will be a few slowdowns but no major problems," said Meteorlogix forecaster Joel Burgio.
The US Department of Agriculture on Monday said 52 percent of the US corn crop had been planted, above the 42 percent five-year average, and 10 percent of the soyabean crop had been seeded, above the 7 percent five-year average.
Meteorlogix's six-to-10-day forecast for the Midwest from Monday through Friday is for normal to below-normal temperatures and normal to above-normal rainfall.
Exports were quiet overnight and export sources said Israel was seeking 40,000 to 48,000 tonnes of corn from the United States or South America.
Deliveries on the May contract were heavy at 2,693 lots and there was scattered stopping of the corn. Registrations with the CBOT increased to 2,953 lots from the previous 2,469 lots.
Cash basis bids in the Midwest were mostly steady and farmer selling remained slow.
Technical support in the July contract at $2.43-1/2 was broken, while resistance held at $2.45-1/2.
Corn volume was estimated by the exchange at 158,194 futures, down from 171,098 on Tuesday, and 23,661 options.
Oat futures closed 1-1/4 to 5 cents per bushel higher, with May up 2 at $1.88 per bushel. July was up 1-1/4 at $1.89-3/4.
Oats volume was estimated at 1,491 futures and 26 options.
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