Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were firm and notched 2-1/2 week highs on Thursday amid weather jitters, traders said. CBOT corn was up 1-1/4 cents to down 1/4 cent per bushel. July was up 1 at $2.25-1/4 per bushel. Pit sources said ABN Amro bought 1,000 July, FIMAT Futures bought 300 July and Refco Inc bought 500 July.
The US Midwest should see warmer and drier weather next week with highs climbing into the high 80s to 90s degrees Fahrenheit, a private forecaster said on Thursday.
"We are not as hot as most people out there in terms of the forecast for next week. We think it will be normal to above on temperatures, but any hot weather will be confined to the Plains," said Meteorlogix forecaster Joel Burgio.
Additional support came from firm soy and from USDA's weekly export sales report that was released early Thursday, the traders said.
Meteorlogix weather on Thursday said crop-friendly weather was expected in the Midwest for five to seven days with some hot weather likely early next week, especially in the western Midwest. Longer range charts suggest some showers with warm to hot weather continuing in the west and south, Meteorlogix said.
The turn to warmer and drier weather was expected to boost growth of the newly seeded corn crop. However, an extended period of hot and dry weather would be harmful to the crop. Traders and analysts said the corn export picture appeared a little brighter late this week.