LONDON: US corn futures were marginally higher on Tuesday with the market boosted by concerns about planting delays while soybean and wheat prices eased.
The most active corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade was up 0.1 percent at $4.01 a bushel by 1041 GMT, holding just below the prior session's nine-month high of $4.04.
Dealers said the market was underpinned by concerns about the slow pace of planting with forecast showers in the US Midwest later this week likely to lead to further delays.
The US Department of Agriculture said 17 percent of the US corn crop had been planted as of Sunday, behind the five-year average of 27 percent and lagging market forecasts.
"The USDA planting numbers add to concerns that farmers are struggling to sow their crops, if it continues then yield losses are possible," said a Melbourne-based grain trader, who declined to be named as he is not authorised to talk to the media.
Thomson Reuters Weather Research Analyst Isaac Hankes said in a report that favourable near normal weather should benefit most US crops in May although warm, dry conditions could worsen wheat conditions in the Southern Plains.
"May will be critical this year for the US planting pace given the very cold April that slowed planting progress for corn/soybeans," he said.
"Even so, there is plenty of time to recover with more favourable conditions over the next month."
The most active CBOT soybean futures contract was down 0.7 percent at $10.41-1/2 a bushel.
Dealers were awaiting further news on the extent to which exports from Argentina would be disrupted after a cargo ship collided with a dock in the grains hub of Rosario last week.
"Argentina's logistical issues remain somewhat influential...How long the repairs will take still seems unclear to the market at the time of writing," Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Tobin Gorey said in a market note.
Argentina's grain markets were closed on Monday and Tuesday for a local holiday.
The most active wheat futures were down 0.6 percent at $5.07-1/4 a bushel, having closed up 2.4 percent on Monday.
US winter wheat crop ratings improved slightly to 33 percent good-to-excellent, up 2 points from the previous week.
The USDA said spring wheat was just 10 percent planted, well behind the five-year average of 36 percent.
Paris-based wheat futures were closed on Tuesday with much of Europe shut for May Day.
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