Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade fell sharply early on Friday on forecasts for better crop weather in the US Midwest, traders said. At 10:12 am CDT (1512 GMT), CBOT corn was down 7 to 12-1/2 cents per bushel, with July down 10-3/4 cents per bushel at $3.74-1/4 per bushel. New-crop December was down 12-1/2 at $3.86-1/2 per bushel.
Traders and analysts said volatile dealings were expected to continue with weather the key driver of the market as the US corn crop is poised to enter the July pollination period. US farmers have planted the largest corn area since 1944 to take advantage of the highest corn price in a decade amid the surging demand for corn from the ethanol sector.
Showers in the western Midwest maintain very favourable growing conditions and rains this week in the eastern Midwest are boosting crop prospects, DTN Meteorlogix weather said on Friday. Dry weather has been stressing the corn crop in the eastern Midwest, including portions of key corn states Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, and rains now will help buoy crop prospects. Oat futures were down 2-1/4 to 5-1/4 cents per bushel, with July down 3-3/4 at $2.67-1/4.