Corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade climbed more than 2 percent early on Friday on forecasts for hotter and drier weather by the weekend in the US Midwest, traders said. At 10:06 am CDT (1506 GMT), corn was unchanged to 7-3/4 cents per bushel higher, with July up 7-1/2 at $3.31-1/2 per bushel.
New-crop December was up 6-1/2 at $3.49. Tenco Inc bought 1,000 December, pit sources said. The 2007 US corn crop is in its early stages of pollination and hot weather now may trim production prospects, they said.
A big number for corn in the US Agriculture Department's export sales report early Friday also gave the corn market a lift and traders said the corn futures market was technically oversold, after the fall early this week to 8-month lows, and was due for a relief rally. Oat futures were up 3/4 to 1-1/4 cents per bushel, with September up 1-1/4 at $2.68-1/2.