Corn prices surge to record high for the year as traders question prospects for record harvest

Corn prices popping amid concerns about yield

Corn prices surged to a record high for the year Friday as traders questioned whether crop yields will fall short of expectations.

Corn for December delivery rose 17 cents, or 3.8 percent, to settle at $4.6450 a bushel. The price was just shy of the June 2009 record of $4.70 per bushel for the December contract, Telvent DTN analyst John Sanow said.

As the nation’s harvest gets under way, there have been some signs that the number of bushels per acre will be less than the government’s forecast of a record 165 bushels per acre, analysts said.

East of the Mississippi, the weather has been hotter and drier, which could have affected the crop, Frontier Ag analyst Larry Glenn said.

The situation could change as more farmers begin to pull crops from the field. Meanwhile, supplies remain tight and global demand continues to grow, Sanow said.

Wheat prices climbed for a third consecutive day as the government reported new export sales of the grain: 110,000 metric tons for delivery to Egypt and 275,000 metric tons for delivery to unknown destinations.

Wheat for December delivery rose 27.5 cents to settle at $7.4125 a bushel and November soybeans added 26 cents to $10.35 a bushel.

Other commodities were mixed after the unemployment rate inched up to 9.6 percent in August from 9.5 percent in July but private employers hired more workers in the past three months than initially reported.

It was an encouraging sign for the economy after several weeks of mixed data.

In December metals contracts, gold slipped $2.30 to settle at $1,251.10 an ounce; silver added 27.7 cents to $19.949 an ounce and copper gained 0.45 cent to $3.5000 a pound.

September palladium rose $5.60 to settle at $529.05 an ounce and October platinum added $9.60 to $1,561.10 an ounce.

In October contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange, benchmark crude edged down 42 cents to settle at $74.60 a barrel; heating oil dipped 0.5 cent to $2.0573 a gallon and gasoline fell 0.21 cent to settle at $1.9195 a gallon. Natural gas jumped 18.8 cents to settle at $3.939 per 1,000 cubic feet.