Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade fell sharply early on Wednesday on outlooks for better crop weather next week in the US Midwest crop region, traders said. At 10:21 am CDT (1521 GMT), CBOT corn was down 2 to 10-1/2 cents per bushel, with July down 8-3/4 at $3.47-3/4 per bushel. New-crop December was down 9-1/2 at $3.65-1/2 per bushel.
DTN Meteorlogix weather on Wednesday said there was less chance for a high pressure ridge to form next week in the Midwest, which diminishes the potential for an extended spell of hot and dry weather that could harm the corn crop. US farmers have planted the largest corn area since 1944 to take advantage of 10-year high prices amid the strong demand for corn from the ethanol industry.
Key support was broken in the new-crop December contract at its 200 day moving average of $3.69 per bushel, touching off sell-stops and driving the contract to a one-month low. Oat futures were 5-3/4 to 7 cents per bushel lower, with July down 7 at $2.56 per bushel.