Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) corn futures rose to 3-1/2-week highs on Friday, lifted by a large export purchase by China and US Midwest flooding that has fueled concerns about stalled spring planting, traders said. CBOT May corn settled up 2 cents at $3.78-1/4 per bushel. The contract hit chart resistance at its 50-day moving average. May futures gained 1.3 percent in the week, its second straight weekly advance.
A firmer US dollar and spillover pressure from a broader commodities market selloff limited gains in corn. Chinese importers booked their largest US corn purchase in at least 5-1/2 years, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Friday, a rare sale of the grain in the middle of the US-China trade war. Commodity funds hold a near-record large net short position in CBOT corn futures, leaving the market vulnerable to bouts of short-covering.
Record flooding in the western Corn Belt, including Iowa and Nebraska, two of the top three corn producers, is fueling worries about late planting and reduced acreage. The USDA is due to release its prospective plantings report next Friday.
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