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CBOT corn ends up on reignited weather worries

CHICAGO: Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade closed higher on Thursday amid forecasts for dry weather in the US Midwest, commodity fund buying and support from weekly export data.

Corn closed 3 to 6-1/4 cents higher, with May up 6-1/4 at $2.33-1/4.

"The catalyst was the weather with a little drier pattern again from some of the private outlooks which is in contrast with the National Weather Services six- to 10-day," said Don Roose, analyst for US Commodities, Des Moines, Iowa.

Wednesday's National Weather Services six- to 10-day outlook was for normal to above normal precipitation in the Midwest corn states from April 4 through 8.

But several private meteorologists turned sceptical about the potential for significant rainfall soon in the Midwest.

The US Midwest corn and soyabean growing region will be mostly dry over the next 48 hours, Weather Services Corp. meteorologist Joel Burgio said on Thursday.

He said the region will be turning warmer from the west to east on Thursday and Friday, and continue to be warm on Saturday.

He said top soil moisture in a good part of the Midwest was short to adequate while the subsoil was very dry. And as for next week, Salomon Smith Barney meteorologist Jon Davis reported that "it is a bit early to start discussing specific amounts and coverage but at this time, it does not look like it has what it takes to produce substantial rains over the majority of the belt."

There was also position squaring ahead of Friday's release of the US Department of Agriculture's acreage and quarterly stocks reports, traders said. An average of analysts' estimates placed US corn plantings for 2000/2001 at 77.5 million acres, just above the 77.4 million acres of corn seeded in the 1999/2000 season.

An average of analysts' estimates for US corn stocks as of March 1 was at 5.57 billion bushels, below the 5.7 billion bushels in storage in the US on March 1, 1999.

Export action was mildly constructive with USDA's weekly export sales report early Thursday showed net export sales of US corn during the week ended March 23 at 780,400 tonnes, near the high end of estimates ranging from 500,000 to 800,000 tonnes.

The tally was 47 percent above the previous week but 18 percent below the four week average, according to the USDA.

Turkey's state grain board bought 155,000 tonnes of US corn at a tender. Turkish officials said they rejected offers for Hungarian and Romanian corn because they failed to meet tender specifications.

Russia was scheduled to tender April 4 for 170,000 tonnes of PL-480 No. 2 or No. 3 corn for April 15 to 30 shipment, said Granitex Corp., the country's buying agent.

Taiwan's Major League Feed Group will tender on Friday for 56,000 tonnes of US corn, traders said on Thursday.

Chart watchers cited support in the May contract at $2.24-3/4 and resistance at $2.28-1/4.

Funds bought 2,500 lots. Cargill Investor Services bought 1,500 may, Rand Financial bought 1,000 July and sold 500 May, 300 December, Carr Futures bought 800 May, Iowa Grain, FCC, Carr Futures each bought 300 May and Refco Inc. bought 500 May. Cargill sold 2,000 May $2.30 puts at 6-1/4 cents.

Corn futures volume was estimated by the CBOT at 50,000 lots, below the 67,993 lots traded Wednesday.

Corn options volume was estimated at 18,000 lots.-Reuters