Chicago Board of Trade corn futures were expected to open 1/2 to 1 cent per bushel lower on Friday with options trade and end-week profit-taking hanging over the market despite some crop damage concerns, traders said.
The overnight e-cbot trend was down 3/4 to 1-3/4 cents. Traders said profit-taking by speculators on Thursday was sparked in part by the active commercial selling that surfaced near $3.71 in the benchmark new-crop December contract. December closed down 2-1/4 cents at $3.62. On Friday, positioning ahead of the expiration of September corn options at the close will also add some volatility.