December corn opened 6 cents higher on the session at 417 1/2 and established an early range of 411 3/4 to 421. Corn opened higher and sold off in early trade this morning but, unlike wheat and soybeans, the December corn contract remained higher into early mid session. Traders said that corn was a follower of crude oil in the early going, but that buying from funds and from spreaders in corn/wheat have helped to support the corn market today. Export inspections came in at 29.132 million bushels this week. Cumulative inspections stand at 9.7% of the projected total for 2008/09 compared to a 5-year average of 11.1%. Inspections need to average 38.656 million each week to reach the projected total. The Agriculture Secretariat in Argentina has put corn planting progress there at 20% compared to 41% last year. Progress has been slow due to dry weather. Rains over the past week have improved conditions, but acreage planted to corn is still expected to be sharply lower in Argentina this year. France released its latest corn estimate at 15.1 million tonnes today, up 200,000 tonnes versus last month's estimate. Basis levels at the Gulf are said to be steady in a quiet trade.