Chicago Board of Trade corn futures were called to open 4 to 6 cents per bushel firmer on Thursday, supported by strong export business and spillover strength from wheat which hit an all-time high of $9.42 overnight, traders said.
The CBOT corn market hit a fresh three-month top overnight, with the trend up 6-1/4 cents to down 1-1/2 cent per bushel. December was up 6 cents at $3.81. The US Agriculture Department reported early Thursday that 1,699,900 tonnes (old- and new-crop) of US corn were sold for export last week. That topped estimates for 800,000 to 1.2 million tonnes.
There was also fresh export business from Israel as a consortium bought around 120,000 tonnes of US corn, European traders said. The Philippines will import 70,000 tonnes of corn, with the state grain agency set to announce the tender date next week, a government official said.