US corn futures rise as conditions decline

Corn futures rose after a government report earlier showed the condition of the US crop deteriorated

About 76% of the corn crop was rated good or excellent, on par with a week earlier, the USDA said. About 5% earned the lowest ratings of poor to very poor, up 1%age point from the prior week, the government said.

According to analysts, corn got a little bit of a boost in the crop-conditions report because it did not jump like some of the trade expected, noting that may cause some in the trade who wanted to be extra bearish to back off.

Corn futures for July delivery advanced 0.75 cent, or 0.2%, to US$3.365 a bushel at 9:56 a.m. on the CBOT. Corn fell 5.3% last week, the biggest drop in five months, as rapid planting in the US improved the yield potential.

Meanwhile, soy futures for July delivery were off less than 0.1% at US$9.345 a bushel as tightening US inventories from last year's crop were offset by the prospect of higher yields this year. Earlier, the most-active contract fell 11% this year on forecasts for record crops in South America.

Corn is the biggest US crop, valued at US$48.6 billion in 2009, followed by soy at US$31.8 billion, government figures show.