Chicago Board of Trade corn futures closed lower Wednesday on technical selling and long liquidation as investors banked profits ahead of the release next week of USDA's March planting intentions report. US corn futures reversed course from four-month highs on Monday, triggering a 2.3 percent technical skid Tuesday and dampening market sentiment ahead of an important government report next week, chart analysts said.
Significant rainfall was moving across the US crop belt which will give the rapidly growing winter wheat crop a boost and add valuable soil moisture ahead of spring plantings of the corn, soyabean and spring wheat crops. "There are heavy rains today in eastern Kansas, eastern Oklahoma, southern Iowa, Missouri and south-west Nebraska. The front will move eastward across the Midwest with lesser amounts of rain in the east," said Jason Nicholls, meteorologist for AccuWeather. Nicholls said 3 inches or more of rain was expected and temperatures would remain unseasonably warm for at least the next two weeks. There were no signs of crop-threatening cold weather.
Buyers in Taiwan have purchased corn (maize) from Ukraine in small consignments apparently to test quality, European trade sources said. Ukraine sees a fall in wheat area, plans more corn due to drought and frosts that harmed the wheat crop. Corn production expected to reach 25 million tonnes, up from 22.7 million tonnes last year. A flour mill in the United Arab Emirates has bought 30,000 tonnes of milling wheat, 20,000 tonnes of barley and 20,000 tonnes of corn all from Argentina, European traders said on Wednesday.
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