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CBOT corn ends up as farmer selling stays slow

CHICAGO: Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade closed higher on Wednesday on support from modest export activity and slow US farmer selling, traders said.

Corn closed 1/4 to 1-1/2 cents per bushel higher, with March up 3/4 at $2.23.

Traders noted export business from South Korea overnight. Earlier Wednesday, South Korea's Samyang Genex Corp. bought 52,500 tonnes of Chinese or US corn, and the Big Feed Mills group bought 52,500 tonnes of Chinese or US corn.

The Korea Corn Processing Industry Association has invited tenders to buy 105,000 tonnes of US, Argentine or Chinese corn Thursday, traders said.

South Korea, one of the world's top corn buyers, is expected to import 9 million tonnes of corn in the 1999/2000 marketing year, according to US Department of Agriculture data. However, cheaper Chinese corn has lured much of their recent buying activity away from the United States.

The CBOT corn market otherwise had little fresh fundamental guidance, traders said, and likely will hold within the recent trading range.

March corn has reached as high as $2.26-1/2 and fallen as low as $2.14-1/2 so far this month. The $2.19-2.20 area was viewed as a key support level.

US farmers continued to sell very little corn in cash markets, merchants said, which has limited hedging pressure on futures.

Some pressure overhead may have come from news Russia cancelled a tender for 237,000 tonnes of US corn under the PL-480 programme, possibly due to higher freight costs.

Forecasts for some snowfall this weekend in the western corn belt may have slowed gains. But more moisture is needed in the Midwest to recharge soil moisture levels.

CIS bought at least 500 March near the close. FIMAT Futures bought 700 May and 300 December, Cargill Inc. sold 300 May, Rand Financial Services sold 600 March and R.J. O'Brien & Associates sold 500 July.

CBOT corn futures volume was estimated by the CBOT at 46,000 lots, below the 57,871 lots traded Tuesday.

Corn options volume was estimated at 16,000 lots. -Reuters