Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade climbed early on Tuesday on fresh weather worries and on a surge in wheat, traders said. At 10:06 am CDT (1506 GMT), CBOT corn was up 1/2 to 5-1/2 cents per bushel, with July up 4-1/4 at $3.62 per bushel. New-crop December was up 5-1/4 at $3.79-1/4 per bushel.
Tenco Inc bought between 2,500 and 3,000 December and Iowa Grain sold 500 December, traders said. Traders said outlooks for potential hotter and drier weather in early July in the Midwest Corn Belt boosted corn futures prices. The US corn crop will be entering its critical pollination stage of development in early July and hot weather then could harm the crop and trim yield potential.
A strong rally in wheat amid declining conditions for the US wheat crop and a sharp acreage decline in Canada also boosted corn futures prices, the traders said. Oat futures were up 2-1/2 to 5-1/4 cents per bushel, with July up 4 at $2.65 per bushel.