Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade rallied 4 percent on Wednesday amid forecasts for wet and cold weather in the US Midwest that will slow spring field work and early seeding of the 2007 US corn crop, traders said.
"It's all weather, that's all anyone is talking about," said Vic Lespinasse, floor spokesman for A.G. Edwards and Co. Traders also said a technical rebound occurred after the sharp decline on Tuesday that left the corn market in oversold technical territory.
CBOT corn closed 6 to 13-1/4 cents per bushel higher, with May up 13 at $3.59-1/4 per bushel. New-crop December was up 13 at $3.80-1/2. Volume was large estimated at 291,727 futures and 99,444 options. But that was down from Tuesday when 439,929 futures and 109,099 options traded. Futures volume was the third largest in CBOT history, with 61 percent or 270,503 contracts screen traded.
Corn bulls cite wet weather that could slow corn seedings while corn bears point out there is plenty of time to plant corn. US farmers have been challenged with planting and producing significantly more corn this year to meet the surging demand for the grain from the ethanol industry.
The window of opportunity to plant corn in the United States and realise maximum or optimal yield potential is from roughly early April through mid-May, and weather-related planting delays are now a very sensitive market issue. Very cold weather over the next several days in the US Midwest along with rainfall will slow spring fieldwork and early seeding of US crops, according to DTN Meteorlogix weather.
There is plenty of time to plant the corn crop, but farmers are faced with sowing the largest acreage since 1944 so any delays in seeding will draw more attention than usual. Export activity overnight and early Wednesday included news South Korea is seeking 110,000 tonnes of corn.
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