Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were firm past midday Friday on follow-through technical buying, supported by the strength in wheat and a slowdown in harvest, traders said. Outlooks for smaller-than-expected 2008 US corn seedings, strong export demand tied to the sliding dollar and slowdown in the US harvest were also supportive factors.
But the market seemed stalled late - caught between the strength of wheat and sell-off in the soya complex. By 12:25 pm CDT (1725 GMT), December was up 1-3/4 cent at $3.69 per bushel-after breaking through resistance at $3.68. Deferred months were steady to up 2 cents.
CBOT December wheat climbed the 30-cent limit on Russia's plans to slap a prohibitive tariff on wheat exports. Analytical firm Informa Economics pegged 2008 US corn acres at 85.8 million, down from its September forecast and lower than USDA chief economist estimate of 87.0 million issued on Thursday for budgetary purposes. Both forecasts are far below the 93.6 million corn acres seeded this spring.
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