US corn futures edged higher on Friday, stabilising after Thursday's steep slide amid renewed concerns about dry weather hurting crops in South America. Chicago Board of Trade corn for March delivery gained 0.5 percent, or 3 cents, to $6.46-1/2 a bushel at 11:55 am CST.
Prices rose as Informa Economics, a closely watched crop forecaster, became the latest firm to cut its estimate for Argentina's corn crop. It lowered its outlook 11% from December to 24 million tonnes, below the US Department of Agriculture's last estimate of 29 million tons.
Traders are paying close attention to Argentina's crop because it is the world's second largest exporter of corn behind the United States. Traders project export demand may shift to the United States if South American farmers suffer serious crop losses due to dryness. Soft red winter wheat for March delivery recently traded unchanged at $6.29-1/4 a bushel. March soyabeans were down 0.1 percent, or 1 cent, to $12.08 a bushel.