Chicago Board of Trade corn futures market was mixed early Thursday, with the nearby months supported by a strong weekly exports figure but deferreds under pressure from a rapid corn planting pace, traders said.
CBOT corn futures were up 1 cent to down 1 cent per bushel by 10:00 am CDT. May corn was up 1 at $3.09-1/4 per bushel, new-crop December was down 1/2 at $3.09-1/2.
Early players included Rand Financial buying 500 July and Cargill Investor Services selling 700 December.
Traders continued to liquidate their May positions before first notice day on Friday. Corn deliveries were expected to be on the heavier side if the May/June spread closed at around 5-1/2 cents, traders said. The spread was at 5-3/4 cents early Thursday.
CBOT oat futures were 1-3/4 to 3-3/4 cents lower. May, down 1-3/4 at $1.70, was under pressure as traders liquidated their long positions before first notice day on Friday.