Chicago Board of Trade corn futures rose on Friday, lifted by forecasts for potentially stressful hot weather in the US Corn Belt next week, along with technical buying as the September and December contracts set two-week highs, traders said. CBOT September corn settled up 10 cents at $4.54-1/4 per bushel after reaching $4.55-3/4, its highest since June 28.
New-crop December rose 11-1/4 cents to end at $4.59-1/4. For the week, the September contract rose 15-1/2 cents per bushel or 3.5%, its second straight weekly advance. The US Department of Agriculture said private exporters sold 104,100 tonnes of US corn to Panama for delivery in the 2019/20 marketing year that begins September 1.
The US Climate Prediction Center projected above-normal temperatures across the US Corn Belt late next week and below-normal rainfall in western areas. Traders are monitoring the progress of Tropical Storm Barry, which is forecast to bring rains to southern and eastern portions of the Midwest early next week.