Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade climbed early Friday on a technical bounce after trending lower all week, traders said. CBOT corn futures were 1/2 to 2-1/2 cents per bushel higher by 12 noon CST (1800 GMT). December was up 2 cents at $1.99-1/2 per bushel.
Funds were featured covering their short positions. Calyon, Cargill Investor Services, Fimat, O'Connor, UBS Warburg each bought 1,200-2,000 December, traders said.
The market was due for a bounce after dipping into oversold technical territory. The nine-day relative strength index for December closed at 29 on Thursday, below the 30 level viewed as technically oversold.
Production of a likely record large 2004 US corn crop limited recovery.