Chicago Board of Trade December corn futures briefly turned lower Friday after an opening rally, and gains in front-month May got pared by profit-taking, traders said. Prices remained volatile following Friday's USDA announcement of a big corn sale to an unknown buyer, which was widely believed by market players to be China.
At 9:51 am CDT (1451 GMT), December corn was up 2-1/2 cents at $6.21-1/4 per bushel, with May up 8 cents at $7.10-1/2. CBOT May wheat went up 8 cents to $7.47-1/2 and May soyabeans was up 5 cents at $13.59-1/2 early on Friday following a rally in corn futures, traders said.