Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were higher early on Wednesday with slow seedings of the US corn crop boosting prices, traders said. At 10:24 am CDT (1524 GMT), CBOT corn was up 1 to 4 cents per bushel, with May up 3 at $3.70-1/2 per bushel. July was up 4 at $3.81-1/2 and new-crop December was up 3-1/2 at $3.82.
J.P. Morgan bought 500 July and sold 300 December, pit sources said. Corn plantings fell behind the five-year average last week and some outlooks for more showers by the weekend into early next week led to concerns about continued slow planting progress, they said.
Gains were limited by falling wheat futures and weakness in the soy complex, the traders said. Oat futures were unchanged to 2-1/4 cents per bushel lower, with May unchanged at $2.62-1/2 per bushel.