Chicago Board of Trade corn futures climbed nearly 2 percent on Thursday, with the benchmark December contract hitting a one-week top as larger-than-expected weekly export sales and prospects for US harvest delays sparked a round of short-covering, analysts said. CBOT December corn settled up 6-3/4 cents at $3.52-1/2 per bushel after reaching $3.56-1/4, its highest since September 12.
The US Department of Agriculture reported export sales of US corn in the latest week at 1,393,400 tonnes (old and new crop years combined), topping a range of trade expectations for 500,000 to 1,200,000 tonnes. Through its daily reporting system, the USDA also said that private exporters sold an additional 160,020 tonnes of US corn to Mexico.
Heavy rains in the last day caused localized flooding in parts of South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota, the Commodity Weather Group said, stalling harvest activity. The United States generated some 1.35 billion blending credits for corn-based ethanol (D6) in July, down from 1.37 billion in July, the Environmental Protection Agency said.