Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were lower midday Tuesday, after tumbling earlier to contract lows on a bigger-than-expected government crop estimate released before the open, traders said.
Most of the contracts made fresh lows near the open, including new-crop December falling below $2.00 to $1.97.
But the market moved off its lows by the midsession due to a bout of short-covering by commodity funds along with commercial pricing. Even so, funds net sold roughly 4,500 lots by noon CDT (1700 GMT).
CBOT corn futures were 1-1/2 to 4 cents per bushel, with December down 4 cents at $2.00-3/4.
Featured sellers included Refco with nearly 1,000 December, while Cargill Inc bought 1,500 December and 1,000 December 2005. ADM Investor Services was also a net buyer, traders said.
"There's been a lot of Japanese pricing today," one CBOT floor broker said.
The US Department of Agriculture early Tuesday forecast 2004 US corn production at a record large 11.613 billion bushels, above an average of analysts' estimates for 11.217 billion and sharply above the previous record of 10.114 billion produced last year.