US corn futures rallied in choppy trading early on Wednesday as traders adjusted positions ahead of a keenly awaited US government crop report that may predict the lowest US corn yield in 15 years. Talk of end-user demand buoyed corn as well as nearby soyabean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade, and the upturn in corn helped wheat to erase early losses.
Traders expected the US Department of Agriculture to slash its forecast of the US corn yield in Friday's August supply/demand reports. Analysts surveyed by Reuters, on average, estimate the US corn yield at 127.3 bushels per acre, which would be the lowest since 1997.
At the CBOT as of 11:40 a.m. CDT (1640 GMT), CBOT December corn was up 7-1/4 cents at $8.07-3/4 per bushel. September wheat was up 2 cents at $8.91 a bushel, after falling as low as $8.69-1/4. Most-active November soyabeans rose 1/2 cent to $15.66-1/4 per bushel but the lightly traded front months, August and September, were higher.