Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were up sharply early on Tuesday on big exports of US corn and signs the US government will mandate increased usage of corn-based ethanol in a new energy bill, traders said.
At 10:08 am CST (1608 GMT), CBOT corn was up 3-1/2 to 8 cents per bushel, with December up 7 at $3.93 per bushel. "Corn is the benefactor of year-end balancing, the technical picture looks good and export demand is solid with Mexico's news this morning," a trader said.
"The exports are great, but I think a lot of the trade is focused on hopes for an energy package that includes more ethanol," a veteran corn trader said. Oat futures were up 2 to 5 cents per bushel, with December up 3-1/4 at $2.64-1/4 per bushel.