May corn traded 6 cents higher overnight. Crude oil and gold are somewhat lower. Wheat and the soybean complex were also lower.

Corn prices eroded throughout the overnight session, making new lows late in the session. The focus in corn remains on weather, with planting delays and a potential loss of corn acres becoming more and more of a factor, according to some traders, as the forecasts for wetter than normal weather extend into next week. Normally, producers make some progress by late March for planting corn in the Delta and by early April for the southern Midwest, but progress has been very slow so far this season. The EU approved import of a genetically modified corn into all their national markets for a period of ten years yesterday. Basis levels at the Gulf were steady yesterday, following the early closure of Lock 25 on the Upper Mississippi. Export sales were in line with trade expectations at 730,300 tonnes for both old and new crop. Old crop sales were 632,500 tonnes, which compares to 404,000 tonnes needed each week to reach the USDA projection. Japan and Columbia were the largest buyers followed by Cuba. Traders believe corn acreage will be well under the 90 million acre preliminary estimate from the USDA at the February Outlook Conference. This is down from 93.6 million acres last year. Estimates range to under 85 million. Trading limits will be raised from 20 cents to 30 cents in corn today.

The past 24 hours brought heavy rains to a narrow east-west band concentrated in south central Illinois and southern Indiana. Significant rains extended into parts of Missouri on the west and across southern Ohio on the east. The northern Midwest got rains and snow flurries amounting to mostly 1/10 to a 1/2 inch. Forecasts into the weekend remain the same from yesterday, with a few light showers and flurries in the northern Midwest with periods of rain in the south ending tonight. The Corn Belt should get a break from precipitation early Saturday, but showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop late Saturday and into Sunday, especially in the south, but with rain and mixed precipitation north. Temperatures are expected to be normal to below normal over the next few days. Some forecasters have 2-4 inches of rain across the heart of the Midwest for the next 5 days. No new tenders have been announced so far this morning. Basis levels were mostly steady in the interior and at the Gulf yesterday.