April 20, 2005

US corn prices fall as futures get a boost

US farmers are expected to plant the corn crop earlier than usual this year, boosting the chance that plants will reproduce before the damaging heat in July and August. Traders and advisors are therefore recommending the sale of corn.

Farmers intend to sow 81.4 million acres with corn this year, 0.6 percent more than in 2004. Temperatures as high as 20 degrees Fahrenheit above normal have also allowed for a rapid pace of planting.

Jacquie Voeks, a senior market adviser for the Stewart- Peterson Group said farmers may have planted 22 percent of the crop already compared with 20 percent at this time last year.

Corn futures for July delivery rose 1.75 cents to US$2.1425 a bushel last week on the Chicago Board of Trade. Corn prices fell to a 34- month low of US$1.94 on Feb 9.

Corn is the biggest US crop, with a value of US$23 billion last year, ahead of soybean at US$16.1 billion.