US corn futures plunged 2 percent on Wednesday in a setback from recent rallies to 11-year highs and on mounting concerns about a potential recession, traders said. Traders said steep slides in crude oil and gold also weighed on the corn market and traders took note of news that China was ramping up attempts to control runaway inflation.
"China's move goes along with the recession theme. It's more important for energies and metals but China is a huge buyer of soyabeans too," a trader said. At 10:18 am CST (1618 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade corn futures were down 5-1/2 to 10-3/4 cents, with March down 7 at $5.02 per bushel.
Export activity on Wednesday included South Korea's purchase of 110,000 tonnes of corn for June arrival. Taiwan bought 35,000 tonnes of US corn. Traders view an RSI of 70 or more as one indication of an overbought market and 30 or less as an indication of an oversold market. Oat futures were down 10 to 17-3/4 cents with March down 17-3/4 at $3.11-1/4 per bushel.